Neo Espada
by X-Moon-X-Glows-X
Summary: A while after the Winter War, ten new Espada decide to free Aizen. With Ichigo's powers gone, how will he stop this from happening? Crack, violence and also romance included. Full summary inside. -HIATUS-
1. Prologue and OCs

**Full Summary:** Ichigo wakes up to find his town being attacked by 'Neo Espada', created by Aizen to ensure his escape out of Muken. But these Neo Espada and their Fracción aren't quite like the last ones. Some have their own agenda, and aren't shy to betray or trick their comrades. Others actually find themselves making connections with the enemy. But they all want to stay alive and if that means killing every Shinigami in the way, they will most certainly do it. With Ichigo's powers gone, how is he going to protect his family? New villains rise, a shocking character death changes everything and love makes it all more complicated. At least there's some comedy in it...

Hai gais!

**Warning:**_This story contains crack, violence and other shit not suitable for kids. Also, spoilers for chapter 352._

**Disclaimer:** _I own NUTHING. Except my own OC ;D_

* * *

**Prologue**

"_Ulquiorra. I need you to do something for me."_

"_Anything, Aizen-sama."_

"_You know I have created ten new Espada for when the current ones fall."_

"_Yes."_

"_I want you to lead them when the time comes. Take this pill. When you're on the verge of death, it will save you. You and any other Espada that is left need to see to it that they receive their orders."_

"_I… understand."_

"_You don't seem too happy."_

"_I'd rather follow than lead, Aizen-sama."_

"_Don't worry. All you need to do is to make sure they know their mission."_

"_What might that be?"_

"_The only way they could possibly defeat me is to lock me up, though I doubt that will happen. They can't kill me because of the Hōgyoku. If this happens, they need to get me out of Muken, the place they will most likely seal me in."_

"_I understand, and I will follow orders, Aizen-sama."_

* * *

"_Tch, so this is it?" Ulquiorra muttered as he watched his wings fade into the wind as little dust particles. He knew it was coming. But to be honest, he didn't want to follow Aizen's orders anymore. Being stuck with a bunch of ignorant newbies was surely going to be torment for him. He looked at Ichigo, who was perplexed, staring at Ulquiorra's wings._

'_That idiot. Why is he just gazing at me?'_

"_Kill me." the Espada said, shocking Ichigo even more. "Hurry. I don't even have the strength left to walk. If you don't kill me now the conflict between us will never be resolved." he told the boy as a way to get out of his orders. Frankly, he didn't care for a leader who could get captured. And he had no interest in freeing such a man._

"…_No." Ichigo almost whispered._

"_What?" Ulquiorra asked, quite surprised by this reaction._

"…_I refuse!" Ichigo repeated, his voice louder. "You… YOU EXPECT ME TO WIN LIKE THIS?" The Cuatro was truly stunned. He had not anticipated this stubborn rejection._

"_Tch, right to the end, you never do what I think you will."_

'_I guess I will have to follow orders now. Being a man of my word is more of a nuisance than I could have expected.'_

"_In the end, I think I actually had some interest in you people." Ulquiorra looked at Orihime, who seemed in a state of shock. He reached for her with his hand._

'_As long as the new Espada aren't complete imbeciles, I'll manage.'_

"_Are you afraid of me, woman?" he asked._

"_I'm not afraid." Orihime said, confidence in her voice and a sad look in her eyes. Ulquiorra simply stared at her._

"_Really…." she reached back for him. Her hand was so close, but it was too late. His upper body now quickly dissolved into dust, followed by his legs until nothing was left of him._

* * *

He didn't look forward to this. At all. It had been one year ever since Aizen had been captured, and Ulquiorra had finally scrambled together every piece of dust and was complete. Now, it was time for him to search for any surviving ex-Espada or Arrancar, then search for the ten new Espada who'd been located in another building somewhere far away from Las Noches, undiscovered by the Shinigami. As he concentrated on finding any glimpse of familiar reiatsu, he walked through the desert. It was awfully quiet now most sentient Hollows were annihilated by the Shinigami. He spotted the remnants of Yammy's body just a few miles away on his right. It still hadn't dissolved completely, which was odd. He paid no further attention to it and continued walking.

A speck of blue-green a few miles in front of him caught his attention. It didn't take him long to realize it was Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck, seemingly still in her child form. There was someone with her, lying on the sand. After further investigation, he discovered that it was Grimmjow, recognizing the reiatsu. That surprised him. He had not expected Grimmjow Jeagerjaques, of all people, to survive this war. As much as he would've liked to leave him there to bleed to death, orders were orders. With a fast Sonido he was beside them, staring down at the wounded former Sexta.

"U-Ulquiorra-thama!" Nel gasped. He paid no attention to her, and stared at Grimmjow's wounds. He was unconscious for the time being. The wound near his neck was most serious, and probably the only thing that threatened his life. Judging by the width, it had been targeted by other enemies. It seemed his other minor injuries had already healed or were busy healing. Some were fresh, indicating that even in this wounded state he'd tried to fight someone or something. How reckless. Now, Ulquiorra's attention shifted to Nel.

"Heal him." he demanded. Nel blinked, but did not argue with him. He knew her saliva had a minor healing effect, but it would be more than enough to help Grimmjow heal up, because Ulquiorra also knew the man was too proud to simply bleed to death in a desert.

"He tried to walk. Nel wanted to thop him, but he didn't lithen and got into a fight and got wounded more and-"

"-I don't need your explanation. You're useless in this form. You could help by turning back to your adult form." Nel stared at him with her big, hazel eyes.

"But Nel doeth not know how to do that!"

"Figure it out, child." Ulquiorra responded coldly, not interested in being a babysitter. He sat down on a flat rock nearby and stared down at Grimmjow, waiting, since that was all he could do for now.

He waited for a very long time, watching the man regain and lose consciousness every now and then, mumbling incoherent sentences and dreaming. He didn't know how long he sat there, could've been days, could've been weeks, but nevertheless, eventually Grimmjow woke up. His blue eyes stared at the sky and he was clearly trying to figure out what had happened and remember. Then his gaze shifted to Nel, who smiled happily, and lastly, to Ulquiorra. The silence continued for a little while.

"I thought you were dead." Ulquiorra didn't respond. Slowly, Grimmjow sat up, feeling the long scar on his neck, shoulder and chest. He didn't seem very angry, just irritated and disgusted by the saliva/barf on his neck and torso. "I assume you have new orders?" he said to Ulquiorra, who, for the first time in a long while, stood up.

"Follow." he simply said, and Sonido'd away. He knew Grimmjow was following him, Nel clinging to his arm, though he doubted the former Sexta could keep it up much longer. Fortunately, they weren't very far from Location Neo. He stopped right in front of a tall, wide, white building that looked a lot like a skyscraper, though it had very few and small windows. It had been protected by an extremely strong seal, and Ulquiorra had the key to open it. Grimmjow arrived and stood next to him, though he was obviously displeased, and watched Ulquiorra pull out a small, fluorescent stone that broke into four tiny pieces and pierced through the only door in the building. The skyscraper lit up for a few seconds, showing the barrier, that then cracked and scattered into a million tiny pieces, disappearing with the wind.

Ulquiorra stood there, then turned to Grimmjow.

"Why do you wish to cooperate?" he asked curiously. He'd always thought that Grimmjow had despised Aizen.

"Do I have anything else to do?"

"I thought you might want revenge on Kurosaki Ichigo."

"I've seen him. He's a worthless human now. I have no interest in fighting a weakling." Ulquiorra was surprised by that news.

"I see. Only you would be foolish enough to visit him with those wounds." he said dryly, and walked towards the door. Grimmjow growled at him, mumbling profanities just loud enough for Ulquiorra to hear. The former Cuatro ignored him and reached for the door. He was just quick enough to dodge it when it was blasted out of the wall by great force. Grimmjow stared at the door, then at the person responsible for destroying it.

"Was about fucking time!" a voice declared.

The ten new Espada were staring at them from the hole where the door used to be.

Finally, after all those months of confinement, they had regained their freedom.

* * *

_**The OCs will all be introduced in the next chapter.**_

_**So, dudes && dudettes, here it is. I hope I won't disappoint.**_

_**Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed :3**_


	2. Introduction

_Here's the first chapter. There's an introduction first, since I think it's important for everyone to know all the OCs seeing I have a specific role planned for them already _

_Yes. I have figured out the plot within two days. How? My epic awesomeness._

_Also, if some intros are longer than others, it's simply because I didn't have much back-story to work with. Sorry. _

_Enjoy :D_

* * *

_**Diez-Cero**_

_**Yukiko Jeagerjaques, female.**_

**Hair color:** Brown.

**Eye color:** Blue.

**Height:** 173 cm

**Weight:** Unknown.

**Abnormalities:** An experiment from Szayel Aporro Granz, produced by the spiritual energy of Grimmjow Jeagerjaques and Kurosaki Ichigo, thus has inherited similar qualities from both sides.

"_You called for me, Aizen-sama?" A female Arrancar looked up to the master of Las Noches. She had brown hair which was short in the back but got longer near the front. It was side parted so it was flipped in front of her right eye. She had blue eyes. The mask fragment on her face was under her hair flip, around her eye but going low enough to show a set of sharp teeth. She had red tattoos on her face. Aizen recognized the tattoo design of the Hollow Mask of Kurosaki Ichigo, though she had it on her mask fragment. He also saw tattoos that resembled those of Grimmjow Jeagerjaques', though they were red. This was a very unique case. _

"_Yes. I have decided to make you a second generation Espada, for in case the current ones fall." Yukiko's eyes widened. _

"_Really?" she asked excited. _

"_In this state, you would be fit to be rank Diez." she seemed a little disappointed at that. "But I have seen you in your released state. It's infinitely stronger than what you are capable of now. So you will carry both ranks Diez and Cero." Yukiko smiled again._

"_Thank you! Thank you so much-"_

"_-However," Aizen interrupted her "you will have to move somewhere else."_

"_W-what? But… I wanted to stay with…." she fell silent for a while. "I… understand, Aizen-sama."_

"_Good. You will be sent off immediately. Say your goodbyes." Yukiko quickly bowed before she got out of there as fast as she could, searching for her 'father'. He wasn't really that, but she had nothing else to call him. She found him in one of the many corridors, just walking around with his hands in his pockets._

"_Otousan!" she called, and ran towards him. Grimmjow turned around to face her._

"_What now?" he asked a little annoyed, since she interrupted his train of thought. _

"_They're gonna send me away." Yukiko said with a sad look._

"_Oh. I see you just found out. Well, good luck." Grimmjow simply stated, and Yukiko gaped at him._

"_What the hell? Your only daughter is leaving and you react like this? This may be the last time we're gonna see each other! How can you-" he put his hand on top of her head and stared at her, making her shut up._

"_You'll do just fine." he said as if he was stating a fact. Yukiko looked up at him and suddenly hugged him. Grimmjow had no idea how to react and just stood there, feeling uncomfortable. He clumsily patted her on the back. "Yeah, yeah. Enough already." he mumbled. _

"_I'm gonna miss you." she sighed before releasing him. _

"_Yukiko!" a voice called. She glanced over her shoulder. It was time for her to go. She looked back at Grimmjow._

_He was gone. She had no choice but to leave, with a sad smile on her lips._

_

* * *

**Noveno**_

_**Chié Momoech, Female**_

**Hair color:** Brown

**Eye color:** Brown

**Height:** 165 cm

**Weight:** 55 kg

**Abnormalities:** None

_A young woman slowly opened her soft brown eyes. Where was she? She looked around and saw nothing but sand. She slowly got up and tried to get the sand out of her goldish-brown, extremely spiky hair. She looked delicate and was slightly tanned. Her Hollow mask was on the middle of her head with a long horn sticking out. She studied her surroundings and finally saw a man standing there, left from her, accompanied by some Arrancar. Was that… a Shinigami? Was it Aizen? The man she'd heard so much about? She scowled. One of his Espada had slaughtered her friends because they'd refused to join him._

"_What do you want?" she hissed. She was normally a calm person, but she would not and could not forgive him for what happened to her friends. _

"_Whether you want to or not, you will be joining the Espada ranks." Chié snorted._

"_What makes you think I would go willingly?" Aizen smiled. He pulled out a little rectangular crystal out of his pocket, something Szayel had designed for him a while ago. He held it up and the light started to emit a violet light. _

"_Because you don't remember anything that happened before this. You have always served me and shall continue doing so." Chié stood there, simply nailed to the ground as she gazed at the sword._

"_Y-yes… Aizen-sama."_

"_Now go to sleep, Espada Noveno." _

_Chié passed out on the ground, and all her previous memories disappeared, fading away one by one. _

_

* * *

**Octava**_

_**Roxette Angélica, female**_

**Hair color: **Silver

**Eye color: **Colorless

**Height: **170 cm

**Weight: **Unknown

**Abnormalities: **Was found on Earth, probably after a fight with another Arrancar.

"_You think you can beat me that easily?" A woman with long, silver, curly hair that reached her waist and colorless eyes with a pale skin, which made her look very cold, stood in front of her opponent. Her hollow mask covered her whole throat up to her chin and almost looked like a collar. _

"_I know I can beat you that easily. You can barely walk, and I haven't even drawn my sword yet." she said to the man who'd challenged her for a fight after she'd saved a small child from his claws. The child was hiding behind her, somehow able to see them. _

"_Don't get cocky, bitch!" the man screamed at her as he was being supported by his sword. He grinned widely. This was his final attack. If he was going down, that slut was going down with him. He ran towards her, and Roxette sighed. She had no idea. _

_The moment his sword hit her bare hand which she'd blocked it with, he started to glow up. Roxette's eyes widened. She kicked the small child back who landed softly in between some trash, just in time to be unharmed by the huge explosion. It's effect was massive. The man, who'd blown himself up like a suicide bomber, had simply disappeared, not trace of him left. Roxette, on the other hand, was just critically wounded. She was on the ground and could barely open her eyes. She saw a vague shadow in front of her. It was certainly not that of the child. _

"_You're alive." a man's voice spoke. Roxette couldn't answer. "Good. Take her with us." As she felt two pair of hands lift her up, she lost consciousness._

_

* * *

**Séptima**_

_**Mai Cifer, female**_

**Hair color: **Blue

**Eye color: **Turquoise

**Height: **Unknown

**Weight: **Unknown

**Abnormalities: **None

"_Ow…." the girl with sky blue hair woke up while being dragged somewhere by someone who was holding her ankle. Her turquoise eyes focused on a man in front of her. She could make up a speck of blue and some white, but that was all. When she looked up, she saw a white ceiling. It seemed she'd returned again._

"_It seems she's awake." a voice from beside her spoke. Her ankle was rudely dropped. _

"_Tch." she looked up and recognized the face of Grimmjow, who seemed irritated. "We told ya not to go out by yourself, and what do you do? Yer gonna get yourself killed one of these days." _

"_Sorry…." she muttered as she slowly stood up and stared to the ground. Her Hollow remains cover most of her right arm and her Hollow Hole was on her forehead, though her hair was hiding it right now._

"_You were trying to get away." Ulquiorra stated, looking at her. Mai just glanced at him. _

"_What else was I supposed to do? He wants to lock me up." she told them with frown. _

"_It's either that or getting killed." Grimmjow told her nonchalantly. _

"_I know." she bit her lip and looked up at them. "Will I see you guys again?" she asked. _

"_Of course, dumbass."_

"_Don't count on it." Grimmjow looked at Ulquiorra after that dull answer. _

"_What's that supposed to mean?" he asked with a frown._

"_The chances of you surviving this war are less that forty percent-"_

"_-You take that forty percent and shove it up your ass!" Mai decided that it was time to see Aizen and take her leave. She chuckled as she listened to Grimmjow who cursed at Ulquiorra, thinking it may be the last time she saw them. _

"_Well, I should go."_

"_Yeah, probably. See ya." Grimmjow said with a smirk. She smiled at him and looked at Ulquiorra, who just sternly nodded once. She glanced one last time at Grimmjow, wanting to say something, but changed her mind. Without any words, she turned around and left, not wanting to make the goodbye harder than it already was._

_

* * *

**Sexta**_

_**Cruz Deifilia, female**_

**Hair color: **White

**Eye color: **Black

**Height: **174 cm

**Weight: **Unknown

**Abnormalities: **None

_"Ya called?" Cruz asked, without even bowing. From the corner of her eyes she saw a few Arrancar look disapprovingly at her, but she didn't care. Weaklings were not worth her anger. _

_"I've decided to award you the rank of Sexta as a Neo Espada." Cruz froze for a second. She'd heard all about it. Five Espada had already been sent to that place and were locked up. She definitely didn't want that. _

_"Sexta?"_

_"You're to leave for Location Neo immediately."  
_

"_Give me one reason why I should agree?" Black eyes were fixated on the man sitting up high. She had white, short, spiky hair and was pale. She obviously wasn't too interested in Aizen's offer. Being locked up for an unknown amount of time, just in case they were needed? Tch, she didn't have that much confidence in the Shinigami to wipe the current Espada out. _

"_I don't need to." Aizen said with an amused smile. Cruz narrowed her eyes. That bastard knew she had no other options. Even though he'd found her in the desert and had brought her to Las Noches, she still didn't like him, mostly because of his God-complex. _

"_Are you even going to tell me what I'm supposed to do?" she asked._

"_Just wait in Location Neo. When the time comes, someone will come for you."_

"…_Fine." she gave up._

_But she sure as hell wasn't going to help him when she finally got out. At least not willingly.  
_

_

* * *

**Quinta**_

_**Skullak Tuma, male**_

**Hair color: **Brown

**Eye color: **Blue

**Height: **186 cm

**Weight: **Unknown

**Abnormalities: **None

"_That was the last one." The man with the brown hair and blue eyes stared at the last Hollow he'd finished. He didn't understand why the lesser Hollows kept thinking they would be able to defeat him. Most of them were just plain stupid, thinking they could devour him. He sighed. The loneliness was bearable, mostly because he still had some interaction with others even though it was through battle. _

"_You're strong." he turned around when he heard another voice. He was surprised to see the Shinigami he'd heard so much about. _

"_What do you want?" he asked, suspicious of his motives. _

"_I see you're lonely. I've come to make you a deal." the man named Aizen said. _

"_What kind of deal?" Skullak asked curiously. _

"_Give me your strength and fight for me. I will give you comrades in return so you won't be lonely again." Aizen told him with a smile. Skullak saw no reason to refuse._

"_Alright, why not?" he decided, sheathing his sword and following Aizen. It certainly beat killing lesser Hollows the whole time._

_

* * *

**Cuatro**_

_**Aurelio Costa, male**_

**Hair color: **Red

**Eye color: **Red

**Height: **180 cm

**Weight: **74 kg

**Abnormalities: **None

_His head ached. It was like someone had repeatedly hit him with a hammer. Dark red eyes slowly opened while hands were feeling the hard stone surface he was lying on. He certainly wasn't in the desert of Hueco Mundo. So where was he? He carefully got up, wiping the dust off his clothes. His red, messy hair was a little dirty. His mask fragment, which was a skull on his right shoulder, was hurting a little. What had happened? He couldn't remember anything and his head was hurting badly. He frowned upon seeing two women walking towards him as he held his head and leaned against the white, stone wall on his right. _

"_Hey, are you alright?" one of them asked, a very short woman with blue hair. _

"_Where am I?" he simply asked. _

"_Location Neo. What number are you?" the other woman with brown hair asked. _

"_I… number?" he tried to remember. "I think… I think Cuatro. Ow…." _

"_Do you have a name?" _

"_Aurelio Costa. Can I… sit down somewhere?" he asked. _

"_Sure, just follow us." the two women went in front and Aurelio followed them. He'd been assigned a number… which meant… he was an Espada. But how the hell did that happen? He remembered practically nothing, just his name and number. Frustrated, he eventually gave up because he didn't want to make his headache worse. He would just have to accept it, for the time being._

_

* * *

**Tres**_

_**Kanna Itou**_

**Hair Color: **Blond

**Eye Color: **Blue

**Height: **170 cm

**Weight: **Unknown

**Abnormalities: **None

"_Kaito?" she called. Where was he? He'd been next to her just a minute ago. She searched for him through the building as her honey blond hair danced behind her, her navy blue eyes scanning every area she entered. That idiot was going to get himself killed someday, and she was going to carry the burden. She decided searching the whole building would be a pain, so she stopped and closed her eyes. After a few seconds, she felt his reiatsu, together with someone whom she didn't recognize. With Sonido, she got there in no time. _

_He was on the ground, staring up at a black and purple haired woman who was glaring at him with her red eyes. Kanna walked over to them, and Kaito looked up. _

"_H-hey, Kanna…." he stuttered. She didn't answer and looked at the woman instead. _

"_Who're you?" she asked, not having met all her fellow Espada. Now the woman's glare shifted to Kanna, and looked at her from head to toe. _

"_Amaya Mariah Noche De Lluvia. __Is this your Fracción?" she asked, clearly annoyed. Kanna knew she wouldn't be able to remember that long-ass name. _

"_Yeah, so?" she said with a scowl. _

"_He seemed to be lost and decided to nag to me about it." _

"_Hey! I just asked you for direc…tions… never mind, I'm sorry." Kaito muttered and got up when Amaya continued to glare at him. Then, she started to giggle._

"_You're so stupid it's cute!" she uttered, getting Kanna pissed and Kaito just confused. _

"_You don't need to apologize, Kaito. She's being a complete-" he put his hand on her mouth before she could speak. Amaya didn't even look at them anymore while she was laughing and disappeared. Kanna blinked. That was fast._

"_She's Segunda you idiot. Watch what you say around her!" Kaito warned._

"_Psh, whatever. She doesn't look that tough, and she's just one rank above me anyway." Kanna shrugged, and was getting bored already. She just hoped this damn skyscraper had some games in it._

_

* * *

**Segunda**_

_**Amaya Mariah Noche De Lluvia**_

**Hair color: **Purple and black

**Eye color: **Red

**Height: **Unknown

**Weight: **Unknown

**Abnormalities: **None

_Hm. Now she was bored already. Amaya looked around. Where was Saturo when you needed him? She sighed and leaned against a wall. Her hair was long, the two bangs up front were purple and the rest of it was black. Her eyes were red and she had a scar from her left eyebrow to her left cheek. _

_She hadn't wanted to be an Espada anymore after she'd lost her rank (willingly) back to Starrk whom she'd betrayed earlier. But she didn't have much of a choice. Aizen hadn't given her much options. Either do what he said or die a very painful death. She wondered if Starrk was still alive…. Suddenly, she heard footsteps and was surprised. Stupid of her not to pay attention. She looked to her left and spotted a woman, just a few feet away. She hadn't seen this woman before and her reiatsu was practically non-existent. Amaya assumed it was the Noveno Espada. _

_For a while, she studied her posture and behavior, but couldn't read it. Usually, she was exceptionally good in reading people, but all she got from this chick was indifference. She wondered if she should say something, but decided to wait a little longer while she searched for Saturo with Pesquisa. It seemed he was on the seventh floor, together with some other Fracción. Eventually she got impatient and spoke to the unknown woman. _

"_Hey, you." the woman turned around to face her. She had very intense blue eyes, Amaya noticed. "Lost too?" she asked, with a serious face. _

"_No." the woman said, frowning. She turned around and wanted to walk away. Amaya raised an eyebrow._

"_Oi! Shouldn't we get to know each other? Since we're gonna be comrades and stuff?" the woman first just stared at her. "Jeez, feels like I'm talking to a wall…." _

_Suddenly, the woman charged at her. She was just fast enough to pull out her sword and block it. _

"_What the fuck? What is wrong with you?" _

"_You're Segunda, right?" the woman asked._

"_Yeah-"_

"_-Good. We're gonna fight, right now."_

_

* * *

**Primera**_

_**Luna Alec, female**_

**Hair color: **Black

**Eye color: **Blue

**Height: **171 cm

**Weight: **58 kg

**Abnormalities: **Challenged Aizen for a fight, then lost.

_She kept her eyes focused on the Segunda, who seemed flustered but quickly recovered and fought back, aiming for Luna's shoulder. She dodged it quickly, her black hair, which reached her waist and was tied in a ponytail, danced behind her as her intense blue eyes were looking for an opening to attack. Her Hollow Mask was barely noticeable, like a white, elegant, thin choker around her neck. Her Hollow Hole was more prominent, right above her chest. She moved silently and smooth. _

"_You have some guts challenging me. I'll finish this quickly." the Segunda boasted, and sheathed her sword. Luna scowled. _

"_Why did you do that?"_

"_I prefer to fight with my bare hands." The Segunda told her. Luna then sheathed her sword also, wanting to be on equal footing with her opponent. With a quick Sonido, the Segunda had minimized the distance in between them and punched her right jaw. Luna barely moved. It seemed that the Segunda thought she was lower ranked Espada, and was going easy on her. The Segunda looked at her, surprised, but didn't hesitate to punch her other jaw, with more force. Luna took the blow, and snorted. _

"_Pathetic." The Segunda found herself flying back towards the wall, but regained her footing right in time. She glared at Luna, clearly not understanding the reason she was being attacked. Luna Sonido'd right beside her, and with a quick swipe of her feet the Segunda was down on the ground. _

"_What the…." she stared at Luna. "What is your problem?" she asked, clearly pissed. Luna grabbed her by her jacket and lifted her up to her feet. _

"_Why did you hold back?" the Primera asked. "Don't fight if you're not serious about it. Then you're just wasting my time." _

"_Who do you think you are, attacking me out of nowhere while I didn't do anything wrong?" she smirked at the anger on the Segunda's face and in her voice. "Sure, laugh at me why don't you…." the Segunda harrumphed, wiping the dust off her pants. _

"_Primera Espada, Luna Alec." she watched the woman freeze. "I have come to the conclusion that you're no longer worth my time. See ya." Luna turned around and walked away, leaving the Segunda by herself._

"_Hey! Hey, wait! I want a rematch, dammit! You surprised me!" she heard her opponent yell._

"_Maybe when you're actually serious about fighting me." Luna yelled back, and walked around a corner. She was bored already._

_

* * *

_Ulquiorra looked around in the building. It was white from the inside, with long corridors and several doors on every floor. The rooms of the Espada were on the last three floors, while the other floors had lounge rooms, screen to monitor Hueco Mundo, study rooms, large spaces for training and sparring, even a small lab with medicine and the sort to heal wounds quicker than the usual healing. He was being followed by some of the Neo Espada, who were asking him constant questions.

"Are you the only ones who made it?"

"What about Aizen?"

"And what happened to Gin and Tōsen?"

"Where's the guy that killed Aizen?"

"Why-" Ulquiorra abruptly stopped walking and turned around to face them, giving them a glare that would even make Nnoitra take a step back. Nel, who'd been on Roxette's back, got scared and buried her face in Roxette's hair. The others just shut up and awaited his next move.

"Shut up." he said coldly, continuing his glare. Then he continued walking. Cruz frowned.

"We want some damn answers." she said, frustrated by the lack of information.

"Maybe it's not a good idea to challenge him with your rank." Aurelio remarked casually and leaned against the wall. Cruz glared.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"You- OW!" Aurelio cringed. Cruz pulled his ear with a wide smirk. That was his one and only weak spot and she knew it. "Ow, ow, ow! You're lucky I don't fight weaklings- OW, DAMMIT!" Roxette sighed.

"So noisy." she muttered and looked at Ulquiorra who was staring out the window. She considered to try and ask him nicely instead of their previous approach (which was bombarding him with questions), but Espada Tres beat her to it. Kanna tapped Ulquiorra on his shoulder and he turned around to face her.

"What are our orders?" she asked in a clear voice. Now the two who'd been fighting stopped and looked at them.

"To free Aizen-sama." Ulquiorra answered dully.

"I know that," Kanna said, waving it away "but you're in charge. I'm asking you orders for right now. What's the plan?" there was a silence.

"For the time being, we need to collect more information as to the whereabouts of Aizen-sama and how to get there."

"Do you know who has the information?" Roxette asked.

"Only a Captain and anyone ranked higher has access to that information."

"How are we supposed to catch a Captain?" Cruz said, folding her arms together. "They're all usually in Soul Society." Ulquiorra realized he would have to explain everything or they wouldn't be satisfied.

"There is one Captain they frequently send to Earth. His lieutenant happens to be in Karakura Town right now. All we need to do is create uproar to lure him out, then capture him. If he refuses to speak… we'll use him as bait for the other Captains, or use a more gruesome method to get the information out."

"Which would be?"

"Literally suck his memories out with a device I acquired from Szayel. Either way, once we have him, we're ensured the information." After a long silence, Aurelio was the first to speak.

"I guess I'll go tell the others, then." He said with a sigh, and Sonido'd away.

* * *

Meanwhile, Grimmjow had to deal with two psychos who refused to let him go and some amused onlookers. They were outside.

"GRIMM-PA!"

"OTOUSAN!"

"Grimm-pa!"

"Otousan!"

"YOU'RE PULLING MY FUCKING ARMS OUT!" He just managed to get away from the grasp of the two women. Skullak couldn't help but feel sorry for the guy being assaulted by the two, while Luna and Mai were laughing their asses off. Chié watched from a distance, amused.

"We haven't seen you in like a hundred years! Could you be more compassionate?"

"Ch, hundred my ass. It was only one." he muttered. Amaya smacked him. "What the fuck?" he glared at her, which earned him another smack.

"Don't talk like that in front of your daughter!"

"You bitch-" he managed to dodge the third smack. Suddenly Yukiko started glaring at him. "Now what did I do?" Grimmjow asked, getting agitated.

"I haven't seen you in a year and you treat me like a stranger!" she complained, pissed.

"Getting separated from your parents builds character. Stop whining." Grimmjow huffed. Amaya smacked him again."Dammit- now you're getting it!" Amaya quickly jumped away, avoiding a fist and hid behind Skullak, who stared at her.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Ssstt, I'm hiding." she whispered, smothering a laugh.

"Are you kidding me?"

"Skullak, move!" Grimmjow demanded. Skullak tried to, but Amaya decided to use him as a shield. "I said move!" Grimmjow repeated impatiently.

"She won't let me. Hey, let go!" Skullak demanded, scowling at her.

"But he's gonna punch me!" she whined.

"Maybe you deserve it." Luna commented with an amused smirk.

"Maybe? She definitely does." Mai said in response. Amaya frowned at her.

"How could I possibly deserve such a cruel fate? I am nothing but innocence! Oh, woe is me! Why must the good be punished?" she said melodramatically, then burst out into giggles.

"Suuuure, innocence. You still owe me a pair of new sunglasses." Mai accused her, since Amaya had 'accidentally' broken them the other day. But it really had been payback for Mai calling her a hyena. Totally justified. Well, at least in her eyes. Chié had been observing, amused by the nonsense going on as she was sitting on a rock, watching. Yukiko now was scolding at Grimmjow for being a _'cold, uncaring and abusive father,'_.

"WHAT ABUSE?'

"Neglect falls under abuse!"

"I don't care! If I didn't hit you then it ain't abuse!"

Chié chuckled when Yukiko also started using Skullak as a shield when Grimmjow got pissed. So now Skullak got a very pissed guy in front of him, a nagging daughter behind him, a loud, arguing woman behind the daughter and everyone seemed to be yelling at each other. He was certain that he'd just lost half his hearing capability. Luna was just laughing and enjoying the spectacle. Chié wondered where the others were.

"What a bunch of children." she almost jumped when she suddenly found Aurelio sitting next to her.

"You almost gave me a heart-attack." Chié said, shifting her weight on the rock uneasily.

"Sorry. Thought you'd already noticed me: I've been sitting here for a while now." he apologized with a little smile. Chié looked at him.

"Any reason as to why you're here?" she asked.

"We got our orders."

"I see."

All the yelling stopped in an instant. All eyes were directed at Aurelio and the fighting was broken up faster than the blink of an eye.

"We're going on a killing spree, guys," he said while smirking mischievously "and we're going right now."

* * *

_Hay gais! So far, my first chapter. Well, sort of chapter. More like an introduction. Yeah, no Fracción in here yet, mainly because I wanted the focus to be the Espada for this one. They'll appear in the next chapter though, so no worries :D_

_I'll try to not neglect anyone's OC, but please keep in mind that in the future I might write some chapters with specific events that do not involve your OC, and other chapters that do, and in some I'll balance it out (like in this one)._

_So I'll try to spend an even amount of attention to each OC since they're all very interesting and unique, but I'm not some sort of SuperWriterGoddess so try to be patient please._

_**PLEAZZ REVIEW** and tell me if I got your OC right._

_**ALSSSSOOOO**, if you have any ideas for a chapter involving your OC, lemme know :D_


	3. Shinigami meet Neo Espada

"Naturally they send _us _to do their dirty work…."

"You shouldn't complain so much, Yesora-san. We're only here to check if it's safe for an attack."

"Yeah, well, they could've-"

"-I think I heard something." Three men were standing in a dark alley in Karakura Town. They looked anything but human. The man with the black, spiky hair and green eyes whose name was Denetsu Yesora scowled at his friend. He was the Fracción of the Primera Espada.

"And of course it takes a_ blind_ guy to notice something."

"Well, you are pretty oblivious sometimes." The blind man, whose hair was a greenish yellow color, smiled a little. His name was Shiro Latoza, the Fracción of the Diez/Cero ranked Espada. The third man, who'd told Denetsu to calm down, was a blond man with blue eyes, the Fracción of the Tercera Espada and was named Kaito.

"Does it matter? They can't see us anyway." Kaito said, leaning against the wall before discovering it was very dirty and standing straight again. Humans were so dirty sometimes.

"Whatever. We checked the area. It's clear, right?" Denetsu said to Shiro.

"You're asking a blind man?"

"…You're really enjoying this, aren't you? Just answer!" Shiro sighed at Denetsu's impatience.

"Yes, it's clear. We need to wait for Takashi's signal before we can go." he told them.

"He's sure taking his sweet time." Kaito muttered, putting his hands in his pockets, waiting for the other Fracción to give them the signal so they could sit back, and watch their superiors create havoc in this little, peaceful town.

* * *

"Dammit, Ggio!"

"What? Jeez, it's not like they saw me!"

"We weren't supposed to kill anyone yet!"

"But she bumped into me!"

"She couldn't even see you, you imbecile!"

"Dear lord." Two of the Arrancar that had survived the war and were now Fracción from the Quinta Espada were arguing over a girl one of them had murdered. Cirucci Sanderwicci glared at Ggio Vega who thought he'd done nothing wrong. Another Fracción of the Diez/Cero ranked Espada, Takashi Yodimaru, sighed. He had short, white hair and blue eyes. He was getting quite irritated by the two who were yelling at each other. He looked up at the sky and saw a pink flash.

"Is that Apacci's safe signal?" another Fracción asked him, Saturo Davi, the Segunda Espada's Fracción. He had blue eyes and black hair till his shoulders with red highlights. He had a feminine build, which caused some people to mistake him for a woman.

"Apparently. Now we can send ours to Shiro and the rest and get out of here." Takashi said, forming a red boll of energy in his hand. It shot up and disappeared in no time. He looked at Cirucci and Ggio who were still arguing and rolled his eyes,

"You two. We're leaving, so stop bickering." he spoke to them in a calm manner. They ignored him. "I said: we're leaving." he repeated, slightly louder but still calm. He still got no response. Getting more irritated by the second, he increased his spiritual pressure. They both froze.

"Was that really necessary?" Saturo asked.

"No. But it's fun. Besides, I detest yelling." He opened a Garganta and lifted his spiritual pressure off the two Fracción. "Follow." he simply stated, and went through it first, followed by Saturo and the other two.

* * *

She was running as fast as she could. Sweat dripping down her forehead and her eyes wide. Had she seen what she'd thought? Was it possible that… they were back? No, no it couldn't be. She refused to accept it. But she'd seen them so vividly, their masks, their holes…. She'd felt their presence. It was evil and dark. She'd been walking back from the store when she'd heard some loud voices from a dark alley. She'd just glanced but when she'd taken another good look…. One of them, a man who had his eyes closed, heard her accidentally kick a can. Luckily he'd been distracted by his friend, giving her the chance to run. Maybe they weren't what she thought they were. Maybe they were just some weird people who thought it was Halloween or… or-

"Oomph!"she fell down on the ground when roughly bumping onto someone. She looked up, completely distraught, and then felt a huge wave of relief washing over her.

"Karin! What's wrong? You look upset." Abarai Renji helped her up.

"I… I think I saw… _Arrancar_." she whispered. The Shinigami's eyes widened, then but then he started laughing.

"Yeah, right. You got me there kid! So, really, what's wrong?"

"I'm serious! I need to check up on Yuzu and dad and… and-"

"-Karin, you've never seen Arrancar before. How would you know how they look like?" Renji asked.

"Because… I saw their holes." Renji froze, staring at her. Actually, staring right through her. Karin didn't notice and continued talking. "They were talking about… attacking the town. So I need to go to Yuzu and dad! R-Renji? Hey!"

"Go home and stay indoors!" Renji yelled as he jumped up to the roof of a building and then left. People were staring at Karin like she was crazy because they couldn't see a Shinigami. But that was the least of her worries. She began running like her life depended on it, and made an instantaneous decision. She grabbed her cell phone out of her pocket and dialed a number, then held her ear to the phone, waiting for someone to pick it up. No one did, instead she got voicemail.

"_Yo, this is Kurosaki Ichigo. I can't answer you directly so leave a message after the beep…."_

_

* * *

_His head ached. College was really killing him. He sighed as he rubbed his eyes out and then yawned, while stretching in his king-sized bed his dad had bought for him as a housewarming gift. He was nineteen, and living on his own for a year. He hadn't changed that much, though he'd decided to let his hair grow a little longer. Still no facial hair though, and his dad just loved to pester him about that. Kurosaki Ichigo got out of his bed and opened the curtains. It was a great Sunday morning, but he still needed to finish his essay on English Literature. First he walked to his bathroom and took a quick shower. After that and getting dressed, he walked to his living room and noticed someone had left him a message. It was Karin. He pressed on the button to listen to it.

"_Ichi-nii! You idiot, why are you still sleeping? I… I need you to know that… I saw_-" the message cut off at that point. Ichigo frowned, and decided to call her back. He grabbed the phone and the dial tone went quickly. He walked to the kitchen and opened the fridge while he waited for a response. Nothing. After getting a lousy answering machine, he dialed again and again. After the fourth time, still no response. That was very unlike Karin. Had something happened? Suddenly, a weird sensation pulsated through his body. For a second, he was nailed to the ground.

Was this…?

He hadn't been able to use his powers for a very long time, but his ability to see ghosts and Hollows had returned after a year, and now he could vaguely see Shinigami and even sense reiatsu, which he hadn't been able to do very easily before. Unfortunately, it didn't reach over a very wide area yet. Closing his fridge and throwing his phone on the table, he walked to the door, putting his shoes and jackets on, grabbing his keys and immediately leaving.

The first thing he noticed was that there was no one outside. It was awfully quiet. There was a sense of danger there, lingering behind every street corner. The perilous silence didn't reassure him at all. He cautiously walked through the streets, until he finally saw a man, screaming in hysteria and running like the devil was chasing him. He was going to run right past him, but Ichigo stopped him, needing some answers.

"What happened?" he urged the man, who stared at him, his eyes wide and his pupils like dots as he stared at Ichigo.

"T-they killed everyone! They're-" Ichigo didn't know what happened, but suddenly, the man was lying on the ground and his hands and shirt were stained by the man's blood. He was dead. Before Ichigo could react to this, he heard someone sigh.

"Wasting my time on these weaklings. Pathetic."

"It's not completely wasting time-"

"-I know that! Just sayin' that I wanted to take on Shinigami myself instead of checking the area. Jeez, I'm not stupid."

"Who would have guessed?" Another person giggled. Ichigo looked up and gasped. It was them. They were here. New ones, but how? How was that possible? He saw three women. One with black hair, the other with purple and black hair, and one with honey blond hair. There was one man with red hair. The woman with all black hair noticed him looking first while the others were talking, seemingly bored. Ichigo saw the indifference in her intense blue eyes change in curiosity.

"You can see me." she said, surprised. The others now also looked at him also. The woman with purple and black hair looked from the other girl to Ichigo.

"Eh? This is the first time I see you look this surprised, Luna." she said, chuckling. Luna didn't answer, but just stared at Ichigo, almost flustered. Ichigo looked for any kind of object he could use as a weapon, but found nothing.

"Oi, you. Who're you?" the only man asked, gaining Ichigo's attention again who didn't know how to respond to that.

"Does it matter? Just finish him off." the woman with blond hair said dryly, twirling a lock of her hair around her finger. She looked the most bored of all three. Ichigo took a few steps back. This was… bad. He had no powers to defend himself and was left at the mercy of the four Arrancar. He had so many questions that it hurt his head even more. But most important of all was the safety of his family. Was Karin okay? What about his dad and Yuzu? And his friends? Had the Shinigami already noticed? The male Arrancar unsheathed his blade, which already had some bloodstains on it, and was about to come at him when he was stopped.

"Aurelio." Luna said to the man. "Kanna, Amaya." she continued to speak, looking at them one by one.

"What?" Kanna asked, frowning at her vague behavior.

"This is Kurosaki Ichigo." There was a deep silence. No one did anything for a while but just stare at the woman.

"How do you know?" Amaya finally asked the burning question.

"He fits the description perfectly. Besides, I've seen him before, on the monitor when he was fighting Grimmjow in-" before she could finish her sentence, Amaya was charging right at Ichigo, who could barely dodge the attack, but knew he was done for if she decided to attack him a second time. He saw the blade come for him, almost in slow-motion, aimed at his neck, when another sword stopped it. Ichigo fell down on the ground from the wind and the force this sudden collision created, the noise of metal meeting metal hurting his head even more.

"What are you doing?" Luna asked with a deep frown.

"I could ask you the same thing!" Amaya growled, putting more force behind her sword. Luna still kept her back. By this time, Ichigo had already gotten up again and taken his distance, meanwhile keeping an eye on the other two who were watching, not very surprised by this clash.

"Preventing you from killing him, duh?" Luna answered dryly. She smirked when Amaya put even more force behind her sword. "Now where was this attitude when I fought you?"

"Why won't you move?" Luna didn't say anything, and Amaya snapped. She started attacking her rapidly, but all Ichigo saw was sparks flying everywhere and hearing the constant clashing of swords. Luna blocked all of them, refusing to move aside. Amaya was angry, for whatever reason.

"Anger is a handicap when in battle." Luna remarked, clearly amused. "This is very unlike you, y'know. Haven't seen you this angry before."

"Alec! Stop screwing around and tell us what the hell you're doing!" Aurelio demanded. Amaya stopped attacking for a second, controlling her anger again, and Luna sighed.

"I think we should let Aizen take care of him. After all, his powers are gone. He forms no further threat." she said, and with a glance at Amaya, she sheathed her sword. Then she aimed her gaze at Ichigo. Her stare made him nervous, but he couldn't look away: either he was frozen in fear or her eyes were just that captivating. But there were more important matters at hand, and so he looked away. What were they going to do with him?

"Aizen? You're-"

"-Going to set him free? Yep." Kanna said. "Well, if we're not going to kill anyone else, we should go, right?" Ichigo was completely shocked. He was blown away. Free Aizen? No, they couldn't do that. They had no way to do that! Amaya sheathed her sword, having regained her calm composure.

"Tch. I guess I'll let Grimmjow have his revenge on you personally." she decided, then grinned.

'_Grimmjow, he's… alive?' _The four Arrancar were about to leave, until Ichigo interfered.

"Wait! Who are you, and what the hell are you doing here?" he yelled. Amaya snickered at his distraught as Kanna decided to answer his first question.

"We're Neo Espada." He could feel his whole world tremble and crack beneath him. "We're here to… well… you'll find out soon enough."

"By the way, Ichigo," Aurelio spoke casually, as if they were friends "if you're looking for your friends, it's best to follow the screams. Well, see ya."

They disappeared before he could say another word.

* * *

"Aaaah! This is so. Damn. BORING!" Cruz cried out, slicing down people with every word. They didn't really cut the humans down with the intention to kill, but just to draw some attention. So most of them did survive, though there were some unlucky ones who got cut in critical areas.

"What did you expect? It's a small town." Mai remarked, sitting on the edge of a building while she stared at the wounded and dead on the ground, which was painted red by their blood. She was accompanied by Yukiko, who'd rather not slice people down randomly. Eventually even Cruz got tired and stopped.

"Still, she has a point. Why is it taking the Shinigami this long?" Skullak wondered. Ulquiorra and Grimmjow were with them, but they were silent. Yukiko cocked her head to the side a little as she watched the humans on the ground. Some crawling for safety, some crying and screaming, a few unmoved. She'd boldly refused to participate in slicing them down. As for Mai, she simply stated that she wished to safe her sword for someone who was worthy of it. The same was for Skullak. Since it had to be done by someone, Cruz decided to take it up.

"Maybe they're preparing." Mai suggested.

"Or forming some sort of tactic." Yukiko added.

"Speculation at this point is useless. We'll just have to… create more chaos." Skullak said, over the screams of the humans beneath them who were trying to find a place to hide. "Yukiko, why don't you go wreck a few buildings?" he suggested.

"Wreck… buildings?"

"Yeah, like a hospital or something." Grimmjow said.

"I'm not doing that." she refused, scowling at the ridiculous proposition.

"Tch. Typical. Fine, I'll do it myself." Grimmjow got up from his place and targeted a tall post office building. The hospital was a little too far, and the post office was closer. He made a crimson Cero in his hand.

"Do you have to?" Yukiko asked.

"Since when do you care so much?" Mai asked Yukiko, raising her eyebrows.

"I think I pity them." she muttered. Cruz burst out in laughter.

"That's like a lion sparing the lamb because he pities it! It won't get him by."

"Look, I understand killing Shinigami but humans can't do anything-"

"-We're not killing them. Not intentionally, it's just to draw attention." Skullak told her. Yukiko became silent. Mai did understand her position, though it was not one very useful when you were the most despised creature to ever live. She looked at Grimmjow's Cero who completely wrecked the building, creating even more chaos and panicked humans. He then decided to target the hospital, and right when he aimed his hand at it, he felt a blade cut his wrist. He pulled it away before it dealt any serious damage. He took distance and they all looked at the person who attacked him.

"Eh? I recognize you from somewhere…." Grimmjow frowned, then grinned widely. "That's right. Last time I saw you, you had a hole in your stomach." the short, black haired Shinigami narrowed her eyes. Grimmjow looked at the little cut her blade had made.

"You know her, Grimmjow?" Ulquiorra asked.

"Not really."

"No matter. She's trash. Mai, get rid of her." Mai nodded once, finally happy to get in to some action and got up from her place. Suddenly, Yukiko was rudely pulled away from her own spot before a blade hit the place she'd been sitting on just a second ago. Skullak frowned at her, letting her arm go again.

"You should be more cautious." he said, gesturing at a redheaded Shinigami on the ground who'd extended his blade.

"Sorry." she muttered, feeling kind of stupid. She at least hoped to take on one Shinigami, since she didn't like feeling completely useless.

"Skullak, take Yukiko and go to Roxette and Chié. They might need help." Ulquiorra said coolly. Skullak nodded once and both of them Sonido'd away. Ulquiorra and Grimmjow watched as Cruz and Mai took on the other two Shinigami. The battle probably wasn't going to last long.

* * *

"Is that all you got? Don't disappoint me!" Roxette was very focused on her fight with the man who had introduced himself as 3rd seat Madarame Ikkaku. She hadn't introduced herself yet, mostly because the man hadn't given her a chance, rapidly attacking her with his naginata (spear). She noticed he liked taunting his opponents and mostly relied on force to deal blows.

"You're quite cocky for someone who hasn't hit me once." she told him as she blocked his blade with her sword. Roxette dodged to the right when he made a second, very powerful frontal attack, which was strange because it left his left side open to her. She didn't hesitate to aim at that spot.

"Split apart." Ikkaku called out. Suddenly, Roxette was hit very hard against her back and she fell on the ground, surprised. She managed to use her Sonido in time to dodge the blade. Confused, she looked at Ikkaku and her eyes widened. His spear had turned into a three sectional staff. She now understood that because of the force of his attack, when he'd split his sword, the section with the pommel had hit her back like a whip. It really did hurt.

"Clever." Roxette commented, rubbing her lower back.

"Are you telling me your name or what?" Ikkaku said, holding his Sansetsukon (three sectional staff) ready for another attack.

"Roxette Angélica. Octava Espada." she said. Ikkaku froze for a split second, then laughed.

"Espada? I thought we'd killed all of 'em two years ago!"

"Yes. We're the Neo Espada. And might I add, stronger than the last ones." Roxette said as she got into position again. Ikkaku roared with laughter.

"Good! Then there's no need for me to hold back!" He charged again, throwing his spear around and gripping the pommel section. Roxette didn't wait for an invitation and also charged straight for him. Ikkaku thought she was taking him on head on, but with a lightning quick step to the right she attacked his side. Ikkaku barely managed to block it with his pommel, but Roxette didn't take any breaks. She continued to rapidly attack from different angles. Ikkaku blocked them several times and dodged. With a Shunpo, he thought he could surprise her. But when he appeared behind her, Roxette had already charged a Cero in her hand.

"_Cero_." she said. A blue cero shot out her hand. When it was all cleared up, she saw Ikkaku to her right, the clothes on the right side of his torso burned off and smoking. He'd dodged it right in time. Roxette didn't feel the need to kill him, but enjoying a good fight couldn't hurt. Though Ikkaku was boring her quickly. Chié was in another area, fighting with the targeted lieutenant. Well, actually more like trying to capture her. Suddenly, Ikkaku started snickering. She watched in curiosity. What, exactly, drove this man to amusement in a situation like his?

"I haven't had a good fight in a long while! And you sure aren't a disappointment." he told her, holding out his weapon.

'_Bankai,'_ Roxette thought instantly, and took her distance.

"I think you're worthy of seeing this. Just don't tell anyone, if you survive the fight at all, that is. Bankai!"

* * *

"Stop dancing around and come down here!" Chié sighed. This was more complicated than she'd expected it to be. Matsumoto Rangiku didn't look like it, but she had quick reflexes. Chié tried to figure out a plan to make her lose focus long enough for Chié to capture her. She had a device in her right hand that would expand to ropes that sucked reiatsu out of whatever they had first contact with. But so far, she wasn't able to come close enough with Rangiku's long ranged attacks.

"Heh, seems like you're having a tough time." Chié looked up to Yukiko who was sitting on the edge of the roof of a little shop. A drop of rain distracted her, and she looked up to the sky. "Hmm… rain during summer time... odd. " she murmured.

"I'm doing just fine." Chié answered calmly and looked down at Rangiku, who was getting impatient.

"Ya sure?"

"Yes." Chié made a sudden dive for it, her sword ready to attack. Both Yukiko and Rangiku were surprised by this sudden move, but the latter got in defense position and steered the ashes quickly around Chié, who'd expected this. "_Bala_." Powerful, fast bullets of reiatsu shot out her hand, cutting through the ashes and headed straight for Rangiku. The Shinigami broke off her attack and jumped up, dodging them and now on equal level. Chié didn't waste any time, seeing an opening from the ashes that had surrounded her and shot straight towards the lieutenant. Rangiku, who expected her blade, got ropes thrown at her instead.

"What the-" she gasped for breath when the ropes wrapped themselves around her body and Zanpakutō. She fell down on the ground, suddenly feeling very drained from all energy. Chié caught her just in time, but almost went through her knees because of the weight.

"H-heavy…." she breathed. Rangiku glared at her. Yukiko quickly joined her and took Rangiku over from her.

"Now what, genius?" Yukiko asked her.

"Now we collect Roxette and go back to Ulquiorra and Grimmjow." Chié answered. "Then we wait for the Captain to show up."

"Sounds good. Skullak went to Roxette so her battle is probably done by now."

* * *

"Damn." Luna cursed.

"What are you doing?" Amaya asked curiously, seeing the Primera with her hand held out in front of her. Luna looked at her.

"Eh… well… how do you open a Garganta?"

"…WAHAHAHAHAHA!" as Amaya laughed her ass off and Luna felt like a complete idiot, Kanna decided to help her out since Aurelio loathed Luna and Amaya was too busy cackling to get a single comprehensible word out of her mouth.

"Just concentrate your reiatsu." Kanna told Luna, who scratched the back of her head.

"Concentrate it on what?" she asked uneasily.

"Imagine you opening a gateway. Think of Hueco Mundo, and then concentrate your reiatsu on your hand."

"Alright…." Luna tried it. Suddenly, a huge, gaping hole ripped out of the sky, Gillian peeking through it. Panicked, Luna blasted the whole place with her white Cero, killing the Gillian and making the hole even bigger.

"What did you do that for?" Aurelio yelled at her.

"I fucking panicked, alright?"

"You're the goddamn Primera! How could you not know how to open a Garganta and then PANIC?"

"HAHAHAHAHA!"

"SHUT UP!"

* * *

**Hehe, this was fun writing xD**

**In chapter 3 we'll see the fights of Cruz and Mai, the rest of the fight of Roxette, Ichigo freaking out and Amaya being a smartass.**

**Also, any ideas for the story? Like, romance-related, action-related, possibly plot-related ideas, because I have only planned ahead until Aizen's escape. I have NO idea what's gonna happen after that :P**

**REVIEWWWZ PLZ! THNQ! :D**


	4. Fallen Comrades

**Warning: **_Spoilers for chapters 432-433-434. Read them online if you haven't already, or you won't understand the last part of this chapter ;)_

* * *

The sound of blades cutting through the wind was more than enough to create panic amongst the humans. The fighters paid no heed to them, ignoring them completely like they were meaningless ants beneath their feet. Everyone felt the reiatsu in the area skyrocket as the battle met its height. They weren't fighting two on two, rather one on one. The sun was hidden behind dark clouds, drops of rain falling on the ground and washing away the crimson blood. Corpses were still unmoved, the wounded crying and the others running for their lives. A pair of green eyes watched the humans while a pair of blue eyes watched the two ongoing battles.

Mai Cifer and Kuchiki Rukia were watching each other's movements closely. Rukia found that Mai's frivolity was quite aggravating to say the least. The way she danced around her, lashing out every now and then, laughing, taunting her…. It was testing her patience. She knew Mai was trying to get her to attack, but this unknown opponent might have tricks Rukia did not know of. So she stayed distant. After all, there was no need to battle close-ranged yet.

"What's wrong? I'm not going to bite you, just cut you down!" Mai said in a joking manner that irritated Rukia even more. It was as if she wasn't taking the Shinigami seriously. Mai suddenly shot right towards her, her sword aimed straight at Rukia's chest. She was fast enough to block the blade, but the force behind it pushed her back. Mai grinned widely, not noticing Rukia plotting something as she tried to push back. Suddenly, she attacked Mai with her Zanpakutō, which she'd already released in Shikai. The Espada easily blocked it, surprised by this sudden offense.

"Is this good enough for you?" Rukia said to Mai.

"What do you think?" Mai responded, attacking her again, this time aiming mainly at the shoulders. Rukia frowned, not knowing what to make of that question. Mai smiled portentously, switching her sword to her right hand. "Let's evaluate. You're already panting, putting full force behind your body and still struggling to keep me back, whereas I'm getting… bored."

"Don't get too cocky!"

"It's not cockiness. Face the facts, Shinigami. You're done." she raised her blade, and Rukia saw her chance.

"_Tsugi no mai, Hakuren_!" a huge wave of snow came too fast for Mai to dodge. She was caught in the snow that turned into ice as soon as it made contact. She was captured. Rukia, who was practically wheezing, was glad it was over. She looked at Renji, who was fighting a more fierce opponent.

"Is that all you got?" Cruz yelled with a wide, wicked grin plastered on her face and she tried to cut him down. Renji dodged, and immediately counter-attacked by hurling Zabimaru's extendable blade towards her. Cruz laughed, swatting the blade away with her Noche Asasino as if Zabimaru were a mere fly. Renji scowled.

"You talk too much." he grumbled. Her casual demeanor was as annoying as Mai's. He glanced at Rukia, who was watching from a distance. These Espada were clearly not taking them seriously.

"Do you wanna know my number?" Cruz asked playfully, as she shot toward him like a bullet. He tried to block it, but the force threw him right through a building. For a second, he saw nothing but dust and coughed. Cruz walked towards the gaping hole in the wall Renji had created. "Well?" Renji got up quickly.

"You bitch! Stop treating me like a joke!" he snarled at her, obviously very angry. Cruz's smirk faded away. She stared down at him.

"You're nothing but a joke, Shinigami." she said in a calm voice, with a dangerous undertone. A warning, perhaps, but it was too late for Renji to reconsider this battle. He attacked her again, extending Zabimaru. She dodged, clearing the way for him and he got out the building.

"Don't fuck with me! I'll show you how wrong you are! _Bankai_!" Cruz didn't even bother backing away. The reiatsu didn't impress her in the least. She watched as the blade grew, now a snake-like skeleton with red manes covering its head. Renji had a pink cowl around his neck.

"A snake? You think you'll beat me with a little snake?" Cruz mocked. Renji glared at the abrasive woman, and got into offensive stance.

"Take this!" With a smooth hand movement, the snake shot towards Cruz, its mouth wide open. Cruz frowned, dodging this attack easily, but the second was faster than she'd expected. She managed to block the teeth with her sword, but was slightly caught off guard by the force, though not entirely impressed.

Rukia had been watching all this time, but also very aware of the two former Espada who were watching them from above. She knew she was no match for them and had no intention in attacking them in her current state. Mai had landed a few blows which she called 'lighthearted blows', but they sure did hurt, especially the one on her lower back.

Suddenly, the ice cracked.

"Well, I'm done watching." Mai broke the ice with ease, and got out of her prison. Rukia gasped, turning around to the ice and facing Mai who was smirking. The Shinigami was completely flabbergasted, just gazing at the Espada in shock.

"You're-"

"-Still alive? Duh. Did you really think a little ice would hold me back? That's insulting." Mai declared, offended. She wiped some ice off her blade and looked at the two former Espada who'd been watching from a distance. "Do I have permission to kill?" Ulquiorra nodded, answering her question while Grimmjow just watched.

"Rukia, run!" she heard Renji yell and Rukia scowled.

"I won't die that easily you idiot! What-"

Blood hit the ground. Seeing your friend, a blade piercing through her skin and flesh, was certainly not a pleasant experience. The end of Mai's blade was sticking out Rukia's back.

"Eh? You're still breathing?" Mai noted surprised. "Can't have that now can we?" she turned the blade horizontally, making Rukia scream in pure agony since it was still in her torso. Then, Mai cut through her left side and the Shinigami fell down on the ground like a lifeless doll.

"RUKIA!" Renji yelled, but he was too late. Even so, he lost his concentration which would prove to be a near fatal mistake.

"Psh. Pathetic." Cruz sighed. Renji turned to back to Cruz, an expression of rage and distraught on his face and shot towards her. Another mistake. Renji stopped abruptly when Cruz was suddenly behind him. "Just die already. You're not worth my time." His right arm and part of his shoulder was brutally cut off. He had a second, deep wound from his left shoulder to his right hip. Incapacitated, he fell down on the ground like his friend. Cruz and Mai sheathed their blades. Renji looked up at Cruz with the little strength he had left.

"You… bitch…." he choked out.

"I think I'll tell you my number anyway." Cruz casually decided. "I'm Sexta. She's Séptima." Renji gaped at her with wide eyes.

'_We never stood a chance,' _he thought as Cruz grinned at him.

"It's nothing personal, really. Most people would just finish the job, but I don't see a point in even bothering to kill weaklings like you. You'll die eventually anyway, right? Well, nice meetin' ya." Mai walked over to Cruz and glanced at Renji, who rested his forehead on the bloodstained ground.

"So sad." Mai sighed and looked at Cruz whose grin had immediately disappeared again. She only saw her like that in battle, the rest of the time she was a pretty serious person.

"Whatever. They knew it was a lost battle in the first place. Maybe they wanted to buy some time." Cruz responded and looked up at Grimmjow who was closest to her. "Did the Captain show up yet?"

"No." he answered dully. Or rather, lied. He knew Cruz would probably volunteer to interrogate him immediately, and accidentally kill him one way or the other.

"Hmph."

* * *

"What's wrong? You're getting slow, Arrancar!"

"Ch."

Roxette inhaled, narrowing her eyes. She'd observed his moves for a while now, but to do that she had to get close to him which did cost her a little skin. She had some injuries, mostly on her arms, but it was nothing serious. She could still handle Ikkaku, even in Bankai. Though Skullak watching her was getting really annoying. She'd boldly refused his help, but he'd refused to go anyway.

"Here I come!" Ikkaku charged at her with his over-sized weapon. She blocked most of the attacks, dodging a few others and setting in a counter-attack right after that. She was faster and more balanced than Ikkaku, who was slowly getting overwhelmed by her disciplined, rapid lunges. Eventually, he spun the entire weapon around using the center piece that usually floated above him as a handle. Roxette was forced to take distance.

But she wasn't about to back away that easily. The second he stopped spinning she used her speed as an advantage and Sonido'd right in front of him, slicing him down from the shoulder until he Shunpo'd away, right on time or she would have wounded him fatally. To her surprise, he charged at her immediately. It was strange, as if he was getting stronger, not weaker. She had to adjust to his newfound strength to block and dodge his attacks. Where was he getting this from?

Suddenly, like a gift from above, she saw that he left his right side wide open, and took that opportunity with both hands. With a quick step to the left, she cut him in his side and would have cut his shoulder too had he not blocked it.

"What happened to your big mouth, Shinigami?" Roxette asked with a little smirk.

"Still here, don't you worry-"

"-Roxette." Skullak interrupted their conversation. "It's taking too long. We have to go." he ordered.

"Are you kidding me? I was just having fun!" Roxette protested as she was pushing against Ikkaku's blade.

"He's here." Skullak said, glancing at a group of people on another building nearby, watching from a distance. Roxette recognized Chié and Yukiko, together with a woman who was probably the bait.

"…I see." She looked back at Ikkaku. "I'm sorry, but we'll have to finish this battle some other time." She Sonido'd away, leaving Ikkaku stunned for a second.

"What the fuck? You can't do that! We're in the middle of a battle!" he shouted angrily at her.

"Duty calls. We'll finish this battle later. That is, if you're still alive until the next time we meet." she remarked, and Ikkaku smirked.

"Do I have your word?"

"Yes."

"Good. You better stick to it." They disappeared and he was left alone, until Yumichika finally joined him again. His friend looked at him.

"So, what happened?" he asked.

"A draw."

* * *

"The fuck? I thought we told you to return to Location N." Grimmjow said frustrated when he saw Amaya and the others appear.

"But it's so boring there!" Amaya complained. Kanna stared down at the bodies of the two Shinigami, while Aurelio lazily lied down on the roof of a building. Luna was next to Rukia, and poked her with her foot.

"She's still alive." Kanna then noted surprised when she saw the barely noticeable breathing movements of the short girl.

"Kill her off." Aurelio uttered as he stared up at the sky.

"We're not all psychopaths like you." Luna snapped irritated. When she looked at all the dead human corpses, she felt like getting sick. It was disgusting and there had been no need to go this far. Kanna decided mostly to ignore the gory environment while Amaya occupied herself with conversation so she wouldn't have to think about it.

"You _are_ poking her with your foot-"

"-That's entirely different! I'm just making sure she'll stay down. There's no need for any more casualties."

"Psh, you women with your stupid empathy for freaking everything… it's sickening." Aurelio muttered.

"Well, _excuse us_ for not being brainless animals like you men. Sexism is great, huh?" Amaya replied. Kanna chuckled amused while Aurelio glared daggers at their direction. Then, Roxette, Yukiko, Skullak and Chié arrived with their temporary prisoner who was unconscious.

"Finally! Took you long enough." Cruz said annoyed, and looked at the captured lieutenant. Aurelio peeked.

"Wow, those are some huge t-" Kanna punched his arm "-OW!" Amaya and Mai laughed entertained at the face Aurelio made when he was hit. Meanwhile, Luna squatted down next to Renji, studying him closely. He was more alive than his friend, but either couldn't move or was smart enough not to move.

It didn't matter. She sensed the Captain's reiatsu nearby. It wouldn't be much longer until they had completed their mission.

* * *

He had no idea what to do. He didn't know what he could do. Sure, he'd been training a lot to get his powers back but right now, they weren't nearly good enough to fight Hollow, let alone Arrancar. So why was he still running? He would get killed, that was for sure. But he had to know…. Ever since he felt Renji and Rukia's reiatsu disappear, and sense two unfamiliar but very dark reiatsu, he couldn't help but think…. Had something bad happened to them? Were they… dead?

'_Of course not! Dammit, stop being such a pessimist!' _

"Kurosaki! Wait up!" he'd met up with his friends right after the first encounter with the Neo Espada, though they had trouble keeping track of him because he was running so fast.

He jumped over all sorts of obstacles, not even noticing the corpses and wounded people on the ground until he heard Inoue Orihime yelp. He stopped in his tracks and turned around to see what made her scream.

"What's wrong?" he asked. Ishida and Chad seemed shocked too. They were all staring down at the ground. Suddenly, someone grabbed his ankle. Ichigo looked down, and saw a woman with blood covering her face look up at him.

"H…help…." she choked. Ichigo was nailed to the ground. Blood and bodies everywhere. What had happened here?

"Inoue-san, you can't possibly heal them all, they're-"

"-But I have to try!" Orihime interrupted Ishida desperately as she tried to expand her healing shield as far as she could. Even though it was at its maximum, it would take hours to heal all the people on the streets. But Ichigo knew they weren't going to change her mind.

"Ishida, it's okay… stay here. Chad, come with me." He tried his best not to look down and felt nausea creeping up on him as he walked over the bodies and injured, some moaning or pleading for help when he accidentally hit them. It was revolting. What kind of monsters would do this? When he turned around the corner, he saw. The first thing that struck him was bewilderment. The only thing he saw were his two friends, lying in a little pool of blood, not moving. He didn't even notice the Arrancar who was right next to them.

"RUKIA! RENJI!" He would have ran towards them were it not for Chad stopping him.

"Ichigo, look there!" Chad pointed out. When he finally looked up, he froze like a statue.

'_Impossible….'_

"So we meet again, Kurosaki Ichigo." Ulquiorra spoke calmly. Grimmjow merely glanced at the boy.

"Weak." he huffed displeased, and looked away. Ichigo now noticed they'd captured Rangiku, who seemed unconscious. He'd barely sensed her reiatsu.

"You're… you're supposed to be… dead…." Ichigo whispered, but Ulquiorra heard him.

"We're not, as you can see. I don't know if I can say the same for your friends." the former Cuatro spoke. Luna distanced herself from the two gravely wounded Shinigami, and Ichigo ran towards them, escaping Chad's grasp. He fell down on his knees next to Rukia, who was the closest, and gently turned her on her back. She was still breathing, but barely.

"Shit…." he breathed, looking at her wounds.

"Ichi…go…." Ichigo looked at Renji, who was still conscious.

"Renji!" the man gasped.

"Don't… do… anything stupid…." the redheaded Shinigami told him, before he too passed out. Ichigo looked up at Luna who was just a few feet away, watching.

"What the fuck did you do?" he hissed.

"I didn't do anything! It was actually Cruz and Mai-"

"-WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE? You two are supposed to be dead! I even saw YOU dissolve into fucking dust! How could you-"

"-Don't do anything stupid, Kurosaki Ichigo." Ichigo looked to his right when hearing a new but familiar voice and saw the Captain of Squad 10, Hitsugaya Toshiro.

"T…Toshiro…."

"Take your friends and leave." the short, white haired Shinigami ordered him. Ichigo scowled.

"What about you? You're not thinking of fighting them, are you?" Toshiro sighed.

"Of course not. He's here to surrender." Ulquiorra said slowly.

"What?"

"Damn. I thought there were only two…." Toshiro muttered, realizing he had no other choice now he'd fallen for their trap.

"Yeah, we're pros in hiding reiatsu." Amaya bragged playfully.

"Hey Grimmjow, I thought you had some unfinished business with Kurosaki?" Kanna asked him.

"He's not worth my time anymore." Grimmjow answered indifferently. She frowned slightly at this but decided to let it go. Yukiko looked from Grimmjow to Ichigo, her eyes lingering just a second longer on Ichigo before she looked at the white haired Captain. He looked cuter than he looked dangerous.

"This midget is a Captain?" she commented loudly and Amaya burst into giggles again. Toshiro glared at her, but did not respond.

"Kurosaki. Go, now." Toshiro ordered instead, while Chad had already picked up Renji and Rangiku, whom Chié had released when Toshiro had appeared.

"But… I… fuck!" he felt so damn powerless. It was eating him up inside. He couldn't do anything but watch and let it all happen. He was useless…. But he had no other choice if he wanted to save Rukia and Renji's lives. He gently picked her up, looking one last time at Toshiro, before he and Chad turned around and left quickly. Luna stared at him until he disappeared around the corner, still trying to comprehend how this man had defeated Aizen. He had a decent amount of reiatsu, but not nearly enough to even fight a regular Hollow. How peculiar….

"Wise decision. Kanna, Yukiko, I put you in charge in watching over him." Ulquiorra ordered coldly.

"I don't want to be a babysitter!" Kanna protested with a frown.

"Why not? That's really all you could ever be good for in my opinion- OW!" Aurelio's arm was beginning to feel sore now. Kanna decided not to protest too much and Sonido'd down to the Captain, grabbing him by the arm. Yukiko followed her example. Ulquiorra opened a Garganta, and one by one, they disappeared into the black portal, leaving Karakura Town behind them.

* * *

"Ichigo, what-"

"-I need to get my powers back. Now." Ginjō Kugō stared at him, surprised by this sudden intrusion and the demanding- no, urgent tone in Ichigo's voice.

"We're working on it, aren't we?" the Fullbringer answered.

"That's not fast enough! Haven't you noticed the attacks? They went on a killing spree and I couldn't do anything!" Ichigo practically yelled at him. He didn't have time to do it the normal way. Who knew when they would attack again, and this time with the intent of killing everyone?

"…I understand. If you really want to do it the fast way, I guess I can't stop you. We'll have to push you to the limit. Riruka!" the man ordered the woman who'd been sitting on the couch, arguing with another member of Xcution.

"What?" she responded, irritated.

"It's time."

"Already? But… he's not ready for that! He'll die for sure!" Ginjō looked at Ichigo.

"You have to understand that we won't be able to help you while you're back in the doll house. It could take several days, weeks, maybe even a month. But you won't get out until you gain enough strength to get your powers back. And the process of getting them back will be… painful to say the least. Are you ready for that?" There was a brief silence, where Ichigo looked Ginjō right in the eyes, and with confidence and a fire in his eyes said:

"Yes. I'm ready."

"Good. For now, take some rest and clear your mind. We'll have to give you a basic strategy if we want this to succeed."

* * *

**Sorry if I didn't spend much time on your OC this chapter, but as I said before, I have to prioritize. Some OCs will get more attention than others, mainly because they influence the story/main plot. **

**To give you a clear idea, right now we're in the Rescue Aizen arc. After that… eh… we'll cross that bridge when we get there :P**

**Next chapter:**** It will be a short, comical chapter, but it will start out seriously. Hitsugaya gets a painful interrogation, Fracción messing around, general stupidity and sexism, you get the point.**

**ALSOOOO: BetrayalIsBeautiful decided to draw all the Neo Espada and post it on deviantart. Right now she has the drawings of her badass but cute OC Amaya and my pretty OC Luna (though she misses her bangs up front...xD)**

**Click on her profile to get the link to her deviantart profile and check it out :D  
**

**Reviews! NAO! They make me write faster :D **


	5. Promise

His cell was dusty and completely white. There was no way to escape. The four walls surrounding him were those that slowly and gradually sucked his reiatsu up every five minutes, draining him from his energy. The whiteness, usually a nice color and one he preferred above others, was now menacing and driving him crazy. There was no window, just a small light bulb hanging on the ceiling by a thread. Sometimes it flickered on and off, leaving him in darkness for one second then returning the light for another. Outside his cell, the Neo Espada were discussing strategy. Kanna and Yukiko were his appointed guards, so one of them would have to go in and talk.

"I can interrogate someone just fine." Yukiko said with a frown when Kanna mocked her. Kaito watched from a distance.

"Really? Alright, kid. Go ahead. I'm not stopping you." Kanna said, obviously not very convinced as she folded her arms together. Ulquiorra let the two ladies decide on this matter: he didn't care who got it out him, all he needed was the information.

"Hmph." Yukiko harrumphed and pressed the little button near the wall. The wall slid open to the side and she entered the room. Inside there was a tiny camera that recorded everything that happened in the room so Kanna and Ulquiorra could watch from the screen right outside the room.

Hitsugaya looked up to her, merely glancing before he continued to stare at the wall on his opposite side. Yukiko scowled slightly.

"You know why you're here, don't you?" Yukiko said, watching him closely. When receiving no response, she continued. "All we want is the location. You know where he is as a Captain of the Gotei 13."

"I'll die no matter what I choose." the Shinigami responded dully, seeming to have accepted his death beforehand. Yukiko sighed.

"We can suck the information right out of you and you'll die a very painful death afterwards. If you tell us now, we'll be merciful and kill you painlessly." Yukiko responded, leaning against the wall.

"I don't care." was the stubborn response. Kanna got impatient and entered the room. Ulquiorra merely watched. What they did to the Shinigami didn't concern him in the least.

"Tell us where he is." she demanded. Yukiko glared at Kanna for interrupting her.

"No." she lifted him up by his shirt and slammed him against the wall.

"Tell us!" she yelled. Yukiko watched alertly, ready to hold Kanna back when she went too far. But sometimes, force was necessary, especially with interrogations.

"You won't get it out of me this way." Hitsugaya noted calmly. Kanna narrowed her eyes. She kneed him in the gut and threw him down on the ground. He fell on his back and wanted to get up. Kanna put his foot on his chest, pushing him down.

"We'll see about that." she snorted, and grabbed him by his hair, lifting him up. She punched him three times, against the jaw, eye and nose. "How about now?" Hitsugaya glared at her.

"Forget it." he huffed. When Kanna was about to punch him again, Yukiko abruptly stopped her. Kanna looked at the girl.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"You'll knock him out if you're not careful. Besides, we could just always suck it out. Beating him up is meaningless."

"Ch, whatever." Kanna turned her back on them and left the room. She'd basically vented all her anger from having to babysit that Shinigami kid in her punches, so she felt better now. Outside, Kaito was waiting for her.

"You seem like you had fun." her twin noted.

"Sort of." Kanna muttered, glancing at Ulquiorra who was watching Yukiko talking to the Shinigami Captain.

"So eh… I guess you're gonna be most of the time, right?"

"Yeah, so?"

"Well… I think it would be unfair to keep us _both_ here-"

''-You're staying."

"Dammit!"

* * *

"Ew, disgusting." Denetsu uttered when he saw Roxette spit in her small wounds. She paid no attention to him and watched the wound heal within a matter of seconds. Nel was watching Roxette with admiration.

"Nel wanth to do that too!" the little Arrancar called out.

"Seriously, that's disgusting."

"No it'th not! It'th a thpecial thkill!" Nel said to Denetsu with a frown, who just made a face. Healing through saliva? No thanks.

"Yeah right."

"Nel ith telling the truth! You need to be really thtrong and thmart to do that." Denetsu narrowed his eyes as Takashi and Shiro listened, both amused at how the little girl got on their friend's nerves. On the other side of the room, Skullak was reading a book while Cirucci was playing cards with the other Fracción.

"What do you mean with that?" Denetsu said with a scowl.

"That you're weak and dumb, duh?"

"You stupid brat! Don't talk to me like that!" Denetsu snarled and tried to grab her but she was too quick and hid behind Shiro.

"Now, now, Yesora-san. Are you really going to hurt a small child?" Shiro said on a tone that had a hint of mockery in it Denetsu didn't notice, but Takashi smiled faintly.

"Of course not. I was just going to teach her a lesson." he huffed. Roxette rolled her eyes and lifted Nel up, putting her on her lap.

"Don't worry Nel, he won't hurt you." she reassured Nel.

"I'm not afraid! Nel uthed to be really thtrong too when I wath older!" she said enthusiastically. "I had really long hair and big boobth!" Roxette stared at the girl.

"…Big boobs?" she repeated confused.

"She used to be Tercera back when Aizen-sama was still in Las Noches." Skullak explained, glancing at them from over his book. "Nnoitra, the Quinta back then, cracked the skull on her head open and she turned into a child."

"How peculiar." Takashi remarked, staring at the little girl with slight curiosity.

"Now I feel strange." Roxette said, putting Nel down again.

"LIAR!"

"YOU'RE JUST A BAD SPORT!"

"OR YOU'RE JUST A LIAR!"

"Dear lord." Skullak sighed when his Fracción started to throw stuff at each other, seemingly in an argument about the game they'd been playing. Apacci and Ggio were yelling at each other.

"Could you both shut up?" Findor interrupted, getting annoyed with all the noise. Rudobon, Cirucci and Sun-sun were both silent, continuing the game while the other two yelled at each other and started to throw books around.

"Do you… have a five?" Rudobon asked Sun-sun.

"Go fish." Sun-sun answered and turned to Cirucci. "Do you have a queen?"

"What the hell? Stop playing! We're in a discussion, you can't just go on without us!" Ggio protested.

He was ignored.

"Findor, do you have a seven?"

"…Damn."

"STOP IGNORING ME!"

* * *

Grimmjow was wandering around in the building, constantly being followed by Amaya who was bored and thought of annoying him as a distraction. He was getting seriously pissed, to Amaya's amusement. Saturo was right beside her, watching as Amaya made snarky comments.

"Seriously, you should consider getting another haircut."

"My hair is fine the way it is."

"No it's not."

"Yes it is."

"That's just your opinion!" Grimmjow snapped at her.

"It's a good opinion." Amaya replied with a smirk.

"Just shut up! Why don't you and your little girlfriend go do your own hair or something?"

"…Girlfriend? Did you just call me a girl?" Saturo repeated slowly, narrowing his eyes. Grimmjow stopped walking, looking that the Fracción.

"Aren't you?" he asked indifferently. Suddenly he was being assaulted by the smaller man.

"NO! I'm. A. Guy!"

"Saturo!" Amaya managed to get him off Grimmjow who now had scratch marks all over his face.

"He called me a girl!"

"I know-"

"-I'm not a girl!"

"I know!"

"Hey." They were interrupted by the Primera who'd just been walking around. "Can one of you open a Garganta?" Amaya burst into laughter.

"Ya still don't know how to open one?" Luna frowned at her.

"Whatever, just open it!"

"What are you going to do anyway?" Grimmjow asked curiously, while feeling the scratches on his face.

"Just go look what the Shinigami are doing. Is that a problem?"the two stared at each other for a while, until Grimmjow sighed.

"Do whatever you want." he said, and opened the Garganta for her. "Just don't get yourself in trouble."

"I'll be fine." with that, she disappeared and the Garganta closed. The former Sexta looked at Amaya.

"Shouldn't you be leaving?" Amaya pouted.

"You don't like me being here?"

"Do you even have to ask that?" Grimmjow responded dryly.

"Saturo…." Amaya said while she glared at Grimmjow. Saturo got the hint and launched an attack.

"GET OFF ME YOU CRAZY TRANSVESTITE!"

"I'M A BOY!"

* * *

"This is taking too long." Ulquiorra decided.

"Just give me some time. I'll get it out of him eventually." Yukiko said, after having been interrogating the Shinigami for a very long time. He was very stubborn and refused to let anything out about the whereabouts of Aizen. It was getting on her nerves, but she knew that if she had more time, she could persuade him into giving her the location. It would be kind of a shame to torture him anyway, he was kinda cute.

"Twenty-four hours." The former Cuatro turned around and walked away. Yukiko furrowed her eyebrows as she tried to come up with a new strategy. She went back in the room again, the wall sliding back in its place when she'd entered. Hitsugaya didn't even glance at her. He looked weakened a great deal. She sat down opposite of him and folded her arms, studying him closely.

His eyes displayed a look of great understanding, and she knew he was probably highly intelligent. The way he'd handled the situation thus far also told her that there was a very slim chance on getting the information out of him. She wondered what he was thinking about as he sat there, with a certain serenity as if he'd already accepted whatever was about to come. Then, without a word, she stood up and walked out the room again, leaving him alone for five minutes.

When she returned with a plate with food, Hitsugaya now looked up.

"What's that?" he asked softly, eyeing her cautiously.

"I got some food for you." Yukiko answered. "You seemed like you needed some." She handed him the food, but he just stared at it. Then, he put it aside.

"I don't need anything from you." Hitsugaya responded, still very stubborn. Yukiko sat down again and waited patiently. As expected, the Shinigami's hunger won from his dignity and he quickly started to eat everything on the large plate. When he was finished, he looked a little better.

"Good. Now you can answer my questions."

"I'm not-"

"-Aren't you worried about your friends?" The Captain stared at her, surprised by that sudden question. Then, the suspicion quickly returned.

"Why? Did you do something to them?"

"No. But I know I'd be worried. So far you haven't tried to break out."

"That would be foolish. In my weakened state I'd have no chance to escape and it would only waste whatever energy I have left." Yukiko pulled her knees up to her chin and continued to stare at him in curiosity.

"Do you hate Aizen?" she then asked. Hitsugaya looked away.

"Of course."

"If there was any way to kill him, would you do it?" Their eyes met for a mere second.

"I would want to, but I wouldn't do it."

"Why? I would." Once again, she surprised the Shinigami by this sudden statement. He gazed at her.

"You would kill him? But you're trying to free him." he remarked. Yukiko giggled.

"Please, I'm only following orders. If I had any choice I wouldn't do it. Not because he's an ass with a God-complex, which he is, but just because it's degrading that we have a former Shinigami Captain as our leader. Ulquiorra would probably kill me if he heard this, but luckily the cameras don't record."

"Then help me escape." Hitsugaya suggested. Yukiko frowned slightly. That would definitely get her killed.

"Are you a retard? Wait, let me rephrase that: are you a midget with slight retardation?" Hitsugaya glared at her as she laughed at his reaction.

"That's not funny, Arrancar."

"Yes it is, midget. You can call me Yukiko, by the way. Or Yu-chan if you like."

"You're a very strange Arrancar, Yukiko."

"Thank you, Captain Obvious."

"Actually, it's Captain Hitsugaya."

"No one cares."

* * *

Chié pouted when she couldn't find her favorite book. Now she didn't have anything to read. She eventually left her room and looked around for some distraction. Strangely enough, she saw no one. When she heard footsteps, she hid behind a door, not feeling like talking to anyone.

"…she go there?"

"How should I know? Maybe she wanted to explore earth or something."

"What if she's off to kill Kurosaki?"

"She's not stupid. She said that we should spare him for Aizen."

"But you never know if she…." The voices faded away as they distanced themselves again. Chié recognized Aurelio and Kanna's voices. Who were they talking about? With a quick Pesquisa, she found that Luna was missing. Curious, and also bored, she decided to check out what the Primera was up to. When she was certain there was no one around her, she slipped out Location Neo, and outside she opened a Garganta. She stepped through it and within a minute she found herself on a tall building in Karakura Town, having a view on the entire area.

Now all she had to do was locate Luna. After trying Pesquisa again, multiple times, she knew it was useless. The Primera had hid her spiritual pressure excellently. She thought about the places Luna would go. Why would she go to the human world in the first place? Chié got an idea. She did hear Kanna and Aurelio speak about Kurosaki. Chié assumed they meant the Kurosaki Ichigo, who'd been the one to bring Aizen down. It was easy to find him, since she got a mixed reiatsu of both Hollow and Shinigami from him. Such an extraordinary reiatsu could only be his. With Sonido, she quickly found herself standing right above a house which read 'Kurosaki clinic'.

She quickly spotted Luna sitting on a wall, just staring at the house. Before she was noticed, Chié descended down and hid behind a corner, having both view on the Primera and the clinic. What was Luna doing here? Was she really going to kill Kurosaki? Chié decided to not do anything and watch, even if Luna decided to kill Kurosaki. She wouldn't be able to do anything in the first place as Luna was eight ranks higher.

"What are you doing?" Chié almost jumped and spun around on her feet, facing Cruz who was frowning at her.

"Sssh!" Chié said annoyed and looked back at Luna. Cruz leaned over to see what she was looking at, and her curiosity was also awakened.

"What is Alec doing here?" Cruz asked Chié softly.

"My best guess is that she wants to kill Kurosaki."

"Why would she want that? He's weak. Killing him would be pointless."

"I know. But it's my best guess for now. Or…."

"Or what?"

"Sssh!" Cruz rolled her eyes in irritation and leaned over to watch again. Someone just exited the clinic. Of course it had to be Kurosaki Ichigo. The two hidden Espada watched, clearly interested in the encounter that was about to happen.

* * *

It was a cold evening, she noticed. The town certainly didn't look serene anymore. Ambulances were everywhere, people being treated on the streets because the main hospital was overcrowded. She was waiting for five minutes now and was getting impatient, weighing several options. One option was to simply burst into the clinic she was facing and drag the guy out. Another was to wait endlessly. And the third was to make noise so he would come out, but that was also the dumbest one.

Why she was even interested she didn't know. It was just so odd that the man that had defeated Aizen was so… weak. A human, with reiatsu. It intrigued her, and she wanted to know what happened. When she finally saw him walk out she smirked.

"Hi there." she said cheerfully. Ichigo stopped and gazed at her. Then took a step back, she noticed, his stance immediately changing into a defensive one, his eyes wide and alert. Like that of a disciplined and experienced fighter. So why was he so weak?

"What are you doing here?" Ichigo asked slowly, obviously not trusting her for one bit. Her smirk faded away.

"Just checking on you. No need to be so hostile." Luna said casually.

"Cut the crap and tell me why you're here."

"I wanted to ask you something." Ichigo blinked.

"You came here just for that? Won't you get punished for talking to the enemy?"

"Doubt it. I'm the Primera. I can easily flee and disappear if I wanted to." She watched his reaction, which was one that made her laugh. He was completely stunned, now clearly realizing the situation he was in. If Luna wanted, she could decapitate him without him ever knowing what happened.

"Primera?" Ichigo repeated, perplexed.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to kill you. I'm just curious."

"About what?"

"How did you lose your powers?" Ichigo, still not trusting her, scowled at that question.

"Let's just say I overloaded." Luna stared at him questioningly, not understanding what he meant. "I used an ultimate form. In return, I lost my powers."

"I see. Is there any way to get them back?"

* * *

"Is the saying what I think she is?"

"I… I don't know."

"She's a traitor, isn't she? I say we stop her right now-"

"-How? We're no match for her. Besides, she's just asking him questions. It could be useful information. If we know how he plans on getting his powers back, we'll be able to stop him."

"We could also just… kill him."

"I think Aizen-sama should be the judge of that."

* * *

Ichigo just stared at the Espada. Why would she want to know? What was she plotting? He backed away, not feeling comfortable at all. The Primera seemed offended by this.

"You're acting as if I'm a monster! Uh…. Technically I am, but I'm not an evil monster. I think." the Espada muttered thoughtfully. Ichigo looked at her in wonder. What kind of Arrancar was she? Certainly not like Nel nor Grimmjow or Ulquiorra. She did seem genuinely interested, but he doubted he could trust her just yet. She probably had her own agenda.

"What do you want from me?" Ichigo asked on high alert, not about to tell her anything about his training.

"Again: I'm just curious. Can't you just trust me?"

"How? You and your comrades killed and injured all those innocent people-"

"-I didn't touch anyone." she snapped suddenly, her nonchalance and playfulness disappearing in an instant. "I wouldn't do that."

"That's so nice of you." Ichigo sneered sarcastically. "In the meantime you do plan on releasing a potential mass-murderer, which makes you a hypocrite."

"I don't plan on doing that at all."

"What do you mean?"

"…Nothing. In any case, when you get your powers back, call me would you? I'd like to be the first to test them out." Luna grinned mischievously again.

"Sure, if you want your ass kicked." Ichigo responded cockily. He was stunned for a second when she suddenly Sonido'd in front of him. Then, Luna held out her pink to him. "Pinky swear? Seriously?" Ichigo mocked. Luna frowned.

"I need you to swear it." she told him. Reluctantly, he entwined his pinky with hers.

"Fine. I give you my word."

"Good. Now don't break it." The Primera looked around. "Well, time for me to go. Uhm... you wouldn't know how to open a Garganta, would you?" she asked Ichigo, who stared at her.

"You're joking, right?" he said, and when Luna shook her head, he couldn't help but laugh, which pissed her off. "T…the Primera… can't even open a Garganta?"

"Stop laughing!" Luna demanded, as she folded her arms like a little child and glared at him, stomping her foot on the ground, breaking the tiles. Ichigo gave her a sardonic look.

"What kind of Primera can't open a Garganta?"

"Shut up, asshole! Don't make me talk about your ridiculous hair color!" Luna threatened.

"There's nothing wrong with my hair." Ichigo scoffed aggravated, putting a hand through his hair and studying one of the orange locks of hair.

"Are you kidding me? You look like a carrot! It's utterly ridiculous!" the Espada derided, clearly taking pleasure in irritating him.

"You're just jealous because I'm colorful and you're all black and white." Ichigo retorted.

"Shaddap! I'm a natural beauty!"

"I wasn't saying you were ugly in the first place!"

"So you think I'm beautiful then?"

"Yes! I mean no! I… I mean…." Luna smirked victoriously when Ichigo flushed and started to stutter.

* * *

"What the hell are they talking about?"

"Ehm… it seems they're simply talking to each other in a friendly manner."

"I knew it! She's a traitor!"

"No, not at all! This could prove very useful to us. If she manages to get close to him and learn his methods of training, we could stop him."

"How do you know she's going to give us that?"

"We'll just have to keep a close eye on her, for the time being."

* * *

"Aren't you just adorable! Did no one ever teach you how to talk to women?"

"SHUT UP! Shouldn't you be leaving?"

"Well, I'd like to, but I can't open a Garganta, remember?"

"Alec!" The two looked up and spotted Aurelio, who was looking down on them with a frown. "What are you doing here with that guy? Don't tell me you're planning on killing him yourself?" he said as he descended down. Luna's nonchalant attitude had made an incredible turn for the worse, Ichigo noticed. Clearly, she didn't like this guy.

"That's none of your concern, Costa." she said coldly.

"If my 'superior' runs off and starts getting friendly with the enemy, it becomes my concern. Don't tell me you're a traitor?" Aurelio said, merely glancing at Ichigo condescendingly and ignoring him from then on. The former Shinigami scowled. He hated this guy already.

"Are you jealous I'm giving him more attention than you?" Luna responded hatefully.

"Not in the slightest."

"Your actions oppose your words. If you really want my attention, how about you get over yourself and behave like a man instead of an animal?" Aurelio gritted his teeth, glaring daggers at her while Luna simply stared back with a devious look in her eyes and grin that only angered Aurelio more. Ichigo glanced from one to the other, and got the feeling the two shared a bad history together.

"We're leaving." The Cuatro finally stated, and with a quick hand movement, opened a Garganta. Luna shrugged indifferently and looked at Ichigo.

"Keep your promise, Ichigo. I'll be back before you know it." she said with a humorous smile. Aurelio looked at her.

"What promise?"

"Just walk." Luna ordered annoyed. The two disappeared in the black of the Garganta, which closed itself after mere seconds. Ichigo was left alone, still kind of stunned this all had just happened right in front of him.

'_I better start training soon. Don't wanna break my promise.'_

* * *

"That was… interesting. What's up with those two?"

"Aurelio and Luna? Who knows. Chié, why are you staring at me like that?"

"I want to find out."

"It's none of our business. We shouldn't be poking around in other people's pasts."

"That… is very unlike you, Cruz. Don't tell me you don't want to know what happened between them?"

"…Alright, fine. But for now, let's just go back to N before the others get wary."

"Agreed."

* * *

"I'm not gonna crack, y'know." Hitsugaya said after having talked to Yukiko for over an hour. He didn't know why she was acting so nice. It was strange to see an Arrancar behave so humanely. Yukiko sighed.

"I knew you would say that. So you're choosing for the painful death, then?" she asked him. Hitsugaya stared at his knees.

"I'd rather die slow and painful than be a traitor." was his soft answer. Yukiko stared at him, curiously. He hadn't done anything what she would have expected from any regular Shinigami. He hadn't let out a single sentence of useful information and had been very calm and conservative the whole time. Even when they'd been talking in a sophisticated manner (which she found to be refreshing) he'd been very carefully picking his words, wisely not trusting her yet. He'd been opening up to her very slowly, but she knew it wasn't going to be fast enough.

"I don't think you deserve to die like that." she muttered, now looking at the little lamp in the room that gave them light. Hitsugaya looked up at her.

"You don't?" Yukiko shook her head.

"You're a nice guy. It's funny: I always thought Shinigami were merciless monsters, but I guess that's not true."

"The same for me. You're not as evil as I expected." Hitsugaya rested the back of his head on the wall. Yukiko raised her eyebrows.

"So I'm still evil."

"You _did_ call me a midget." she frowned for a second, and then started to chuckle. There was a faint smile on Hitsugaya's face, barely noticeable. Yukiko then sighed, and looked at the watch she had on her wrist to look at the time. Eighteen hours left. The Shinigami had mentioned that he wanted some sleep, which gave her twelve hours to interrogate him.

Or so she thought. The wall slid open, revealing Ulquiorra with a small, black remote in his hand, accompanied by Kanna and Kaito. Yukiko's eyes widened.

"You said twenty-four hours!"

"There's been a change of plans. The Shinigami have begun to regroup faster than I'd expected."

"But if you'd given me more time-"

"-We need the information. Now." Yukiko looked from Hitsugaya to Ulquiorra. There was a brief silence as she was trying to come up with something. Truth was, she liked the Shinigami. He was nice and sort of polite, and his grumpiness was endearing.

"Can I get rid of him afterwards?" she then asked. Hitsugaya looked up to her, feeling a sudden sting of betrayal. But it had to be expected: she was an Espada after all.

"I was going to-"

"-If you must." Ulquiorra interrupted Kanna, who sighed in annoyance. Ulquiorra aimed the remote at Hitsugaya, and Yukiko slowly backed away, standing next to Kanna and watched.

Screams of agony filled the entire building the moment Ulquiorra pressed the blue button on the remote. For a few seconds, everyone in Location Neo stopped with what they were doing and listened as the shouting and yelling tore through the walls, even being heard outside. Yukiko looked away, not wishing to see any of it. Kanna simply watched as the Captain arched his back and almost pulled his hair out of his head. After several flashes of white light, he stopped screaming and fainted from exhaustion. Ulquiorra put the device away and looked at Yukiko.

"Do as you wish." he said, and left. Kanna stayed behind and watched Yukiko kneel next to Hitsugaya, studying him carefully. No sign of any permanent damage. His head must have been hurting after that painful procedure. Yukiko felt his wrist. His heartbeat was slowing down gradually which was a good sing.

"Well? Aren't you going to kill him?" Kanna asked.

"I… still have some questions for him. After that I'll finish it." Yukiko answered calmly. Kanna frowned slightly, and watched Yukiko take care of the Shinigami. She didn't look away until Kaito poked her.

"You heard her. There's no reason for us to stay." he said.

"Fine. Let's go." Kanna said, and they left the room. But she doubted Yukiko was actually going to kill him: at least, she didn't look like she was planning to. What was she going to do? Either way, Kanna decided to keep an eye on the girl in case she decided to do something stupid.

Meanwhile, Hitsugaya slowly came to his senses. After ten minutes, he finally opened his eyes and even though his vision was blurred, he instantly recognized Yukiko's brown hair. She spoke to him, her voice sounding as if it was far away and echoing through his head.

"_I'll get you out of here. I promise." _

Then, he passed out again, sinking back in unconsciousness.

* * *

**DUN DUN DUUUUUN!**

**Yeah, I told you it was going to be short, but towards the end I had a sudden burst of inspiration :P**

**REVIEWZ! NAO!**

**Next chapter: Ichigo discusses strategy, a few Fracción have a little conversation, some more Hitsugaya stuff and other shit… and stuff…. You get the point.**

**I'll repeat: REVIEWZ! Bcuz dey make me rite fawster :D**

**ALSO: if you want your OC to have a(n) fight/encounter/conversation/friendship/romance/etc with a specific character/another OC feel free to PM me on the detail**s :P


	6. Unexpected

"Shit, you're heavy for a midget." Yukiko huffed as she lifted him up over her shoulder. Ulquiorra and Kanna were gone, most of the other Neo Espada were in their rooms or outside so the coast was clear. She just hoped no one decided to check on her. As the wall opened and she walked out warily with Hitsugaya, a part of her couldn't help but wonder if she wasn't being a complete moron. If anyone saw her, she would most certainly get killed. So why was she doing this again? Was it because she pitied him? Or was it because now she saw the real face of the enemy, which wasn't scary at all. Besides, murdering him wouldn't solve anything and if she was honest with herself, she would Aizen rot in his cell in Muken.

They were still wandering around in the dungeons which also included gruesome torture chambers and all sort of mechanisms to kill prisoners. It seemed the person who designed the building for Aizen had been very sadistic.

She froze when she heard the echoes of light footsteps. It was Kanna. Yukiko gulped and frantically looked around, searching for a hiding spot. She opened a door, threw Hitsugaya in it and closed it shut, right when Kanna spotted her. Luckily, she hadn't seen Yukiko with Hitsugaya.

"Hey." Kanna greeted her coolly and walked over to her. "What are you doing here?" Yukiko blinked.

"Uh… why do you ask?" she responded trying to look as innocent as possible.

"What are you hiding?" Kanna asked suspiciously, instantly knowing something was wrong.

"Nothing." Yukiko answered a little too fast.

"Hm. Okay, so you wouldn't mind if I opened that door?" Kanna said as she walked over to the room Yukiko had hidden Hitsugaya. Yukiko felt her face getting red and hot.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you!" she interrupted her quickly, stepping between Kanna and the door. In retrospect, that had been a bad idea. Kanna only got more suspicious and more determined to find out what she was hiding there.

"Move." Kanna ordered.

"No." Yukiko responded.

"Fine." Kanna turned around and Yukiko was dumbfounded. Was she giving up that easily? Suddenly, Kanna grabbed Yukiko's arm, pulled Yukiko towards her and made her trip.

'_SHIT!'_ Yukiko landed face-first on the ground and Kanna opened the door. There was a brief silence as Yukiko recovered and got up, being faced with the worst case scenario. Kanna was staring down at Hitsugaya, clearly trying to understand how it had happened. The contemplating look in her eyes soon turned to something Yukiko did not recognize, but she knew she was screwed.

"Well, I should've seen this coming." Kanna said slowly. She inevitably reached for her sword, until Yukiko read the little sign next to the door and a genius plan struck her.

"Really? My first choice was to just decapitate him, but-"

"-What are you talking about? I caught you trying to help the prisoner escape." Kanna interrupted, frustrated and confused. Yukiko frowned slightly, whilst her heart was beating wildly and she felt sweat on her forehead. She just prayed this would work.

"What are _you_ talking about? I just put him in the gas chamber." Yukiko said and pointed to the little sign. Kanna turned around and looked at the sign in surprise.

"Oh. I thought… never mind. Just report to Ulquiorra when you're done." Yukiko nodded and Kanna walked away. Only when Yukiko was sure she was out of sight, she let out a deep sigh of relief. It had worked! But now what? She couldn't continue to recklessly drag the Shinigami through the building. She leaned against the wall and bit her lower lip, trying to come up with a plan. She couldn't afford to be seen again. Kanna know probably assumed that Hitsugaya would be dead within the next fifteen minutes. But how was she going to do this on her own? She couldn't ask Grimmjow for help, he would probably kick her ass and then kill Hitsugaya himself.

She entered the opened gas chamber and looked down on him. Still unconscious, so he wouldn't be much of a help either. This wasn't looking very good.

"Hey, need some help with that?" Yukiko spun around and faced Mai, who folded her arms and frowned upon seeing Yukiko's stunned expression. However, she calmed herself and responded to Mai in a calm manner.

"What?"

"I asked if you needed some help." Mai answered calmly.

"No, I'm fine." Yukiko responded.

"Ya sure? Then you don't mind if I watch, right? I suppose you know how to work this thing." She left the room and Yukiko felt tense again. How was she going to get out of this one? Mai waited for her outside the gas chamber. Yukiko looked around, desperately trying to find a way out of this. Maybe she could just take Hitsugaya and flee? No, that was stupid. The others would catch up to her in no time, and she couldn't release either, that would take up too much time.

'_Shit, shit, shit!'_

"Are you coming or what?" Mai asked a little impatient. Yukiko slowly left the gas chamber and forced herself to close the door behind her. Maybe she could fake it. There was a little control panel right under the sign next to the door. There were two buttons. Green and red, it was pretty obvious how to control it. No faking there. Yukiko reluctantly locked the door and stared at the buttons. Mai was silent and simply watched. Yukiko's hand reached for the green button, but she couldn't press it. She glanced at Mai who was staring at her hand. When her finger was just a millimeter apart, Mai grabbed her hand.

"Alright, that's enough. Wow, you're sweating!" Yukiko gazed at Mai. What the fuck?

"I… you wanted me to-"

"-I was just messing with you. So, I suppose you need help getting him out, right?" Mai concluded as she unlocked the door and opened it. Hitsugaya was still on the ground and unconscious.

"Uh… what?"

"Listen, I'm bored and I haven't done anything exciting in a while. So when I saw you dragging the Shinigami around I thought: hey, maybe this could turn out to be an adventure! But if you don't want my help, you could-"

"-You carry him and follow me." Yukiko interrupted Mai. "My back is starting to hurt. I'll go up front, make sure no one's around." Mai did what Yukiko told her and found that the Shinigami was heavier than he looked. She carried him out the gas chamber and Yukiko closed the door.

"Where are we heading?" Mai asked her.

"First we need to get out this building and find a safe place to open a Garganta. We'll drop him off in Karakura Town." Yukiko decided, and she started to walk up front with Mai following her.

* * *

There was an eerie silence outside the building. Most of the others were just relaxing or sparring outside. For others there was no time for rest or relaxation at all. Denetsu was by Luna's side when she'd finally returned with Aurelio. He just watched as his leader argued with the Cuatro, until he was approached by two other Neo Espada.

"Hey, Denetsu." Chié greeted him.

"What do you want?" Denetsu responded dryly. Cruz frowned at his behavior but didn't say anything.

"Luna and Aurelio argue a lot, huh?" Chié remarked as nonchalant as possible, but really, trying to be persuasive wasn't really a skill of hers. More of Aurelio's.

"I suppose." Denetsu said slowly, eyeing her suspiciously.

"I guess you would know what's going on between them, seeing as you-"

"-I'm sorry, but what gives you the impression I would share that with you?" Denetsu interrupted her, clearly irritated. Cruz got impatient.

"How about me sparing your face?" she grunted. The Fracción snorted.

"Does the little girl want to fight? How cute!"

"Why you-"

"-Denetsu." His two friends, Takashi and Shiro, interrupted their little conversation. The black haired Fracción merely glanced at the two Neo Espada before he left and walked with his friends. Both Cruz and Chié watched the Fracción walk away.

"What's up with that asshole?" Cruz muttered, folding her arms displeased by their failed effort of trying to get info out of Denetsu.

"Who knows. In any case, we will have to figure out what's going on without his help."

* * *

Denetsu followed Takashi and Shiro to a spot behind a large rock-formation away from the other Arrancar. He leaned against the steep surface of one of the rocks and enjoyed the shade it was giving him. The sun, which was constantly shining rays of light in his face, was becoming a real menace. He looked from one man to the other, waiting for some kind of life-changing announcement. When that didn't happen, he decided to take the initiative.

"So, what's up?" he asked as he folded his arms. Takashi was the only one standing in the sun, but he didn't seem to mind like Denetsu did. Shiro… well, Shiro was blind so it didn't matter.

"We've come up with a plan." Shiro eventually said as Takashi stayed silent. Denetsu sighed impatiently.

"I know the plan-"

"-A real plan, Denetsu. Not ideas loosely stitched together, but a strategy." Shiro wiped some dust off his shoulder.

"Right. Mind telling me what it is?"

"I'll tell you the basics. There's no need for you to know the whole thing." Takashi spoke for the first time. Denetsu scowled.

"Why the hell not?" he said with a little pout.

"You'll probably get impatient and mess up the whole thing, that's why." Shiro said in a calm but taunting manner.

"Shut up, blindie! No one asked you anything." Denetsu snapped.

"Oooh, you called me blindie! That's so offensive." Shiro said sarcastically and made a sad face. "You really hurt my feelings, Den-chan! Apologize!"

"I told you to never call me that." Denetsu glowered at him but then turned to Takashi. "So, tell me what to do."

"We need you to keep an eye on the moon." Takashi answered calmly.

"The what?" Denetsu tilted his head to the left, not understanding it and looked at the sky. "There's no moon here."

"_The moon_, Denetsu." Takashi repeated slowly with an intense look.

"The… _oh_! Oh, I got it! You want me to-" Shiro put a hand on Denetsu's mouth, smothering his words.

"You're so reckless." The white haired Fracción sighed when Denetsu almost gave it away. It was too dangerous for them to talk openly here.

"You watch the moon, understand? Just watch, don't do anything without telling us." Takashi told Denetsu, who nodded, pushing Shiro's hand away.

"Got it, watch the moon. What are you going to do in the meantime?" he asked. Shiro smiled faintly.

"We'll help the snow fall. The rain will follow after that."

"Snow… rain… okay. So I assume you guys know what to do?"

"Of course. We'll be fine, it's _you_ we're concerned about."

"Shut up. Does Ulquiorra have the location of Aizen-sama?"

"Yes. We're all set."

* * *

"I think you need to sit down for a second, think this through-"

"-There's no time to think it through!" Ichigo sighed in frustration and sat down on the couch, clearly agitated by his current situation. Sure, he had some powers, but those wouldn't be nearly enough to battle the Primera. She would break his badge in less than two seconds! His Fullbring was not enough. He needed his Shinigami powers. Clearly Ginjō wasn't very certain. He kept telling him that mastering his Fullbring would be hard enough in a short amount of time, let alone getting back his Shinigami powers. But Ichigo didn't care. He needed them.

"What exactly happened when you went outside?" The older Fullbringer asked him suspiciously. Ichigo merely glanced, wondering if he should tell. But it really was none of Ginjō's business.

"Nothing." he answered dully. It was obvious Ginjō didn't believe that but he didn't question him either way. Riruka, who'd been silent, narrowed her eyes.

"Fine. I'll go talk this over with the others. I'll be back in a second." Ginjō eventually said with a sigh, and left the room. Riruka stayed behind, watching him. Ichigo ignored her until it became really irritating.

"What?" he asked eventually.

"I saw you talking." she responded with a glare. Ichigo didn't answer her at first and leaned back on the couch. He still found it very odd that Luna had decided to talk to him in such a civil manner. He wondered if she got into any trouble for it. Obviously that Aurelio guy hadn't been too happy about it.

"We arranged a fight."

"You... are you insane?" she yelled at him, and Ichigo sighed. He knew she would react like this.

"It's not that big of a deal-"

"-Yes it is! What if you get killed?"

"If she had wanted to kill me, she would have done that already since she's the Primera. But she really seemed interested in a fair fight." When he finally looked at Riruka, he could read the shock off her face and recognized the mixture of anger and fluster. When she was about to go on a tirade on how unbelievably reckless he was, his friends entered the room, together with Ginjō.

"Ichigo," he spoke, gaining Riruka's attention too "if you really want this, I can't stop you. But you have to know that it won't be easy."

"When is it ever?" Ichigo responded, getting up from the couch, clearly confident about his decision. "So, when do we start?"

"Right now."

* * *

"Just shut up!" Luna yelled at Aurelio, her cold demeanor eventually being broken. He was really getting on her nerves, complaining, bitching and moaning on how she was reckless and stupid for talking to the enemy so openly.

"Maybe I should pay him a little visit." Aurelio noted casually, only the dangerous smile on his face betraying what that meant. Luna froze for a second, then suddenly got very defensive.

"Leave him out of this!" While Chié and Cruz were spying on them behind a rock (which was so obvious that even someone as brainless as Wonderweiss would have facepalmed), both Skullak and Kanna got annoyed by the noise.

"Could you two find someplace else to yell at each other?" Kanna said, getting seriously pissed at this point.

"No." both Aurelio and Luna responded decisively. Denetsu, in the meanwhile, had joined Luna again and was just watching as the conflict got out of hand.

"It's not my fault she decided to go off and flirt with the enemy!" Aurelio remarked loudly, now earning the attention of everyone in the area.

"Flirt?" Luna exclaimed, outraged. "Stop being such a little bitch, Costa! I wasn't flirting with anyone." she snarled at him. Aurelio glared at her, scornfully.

"Really? You were being pretty friendly from what I saw-"

"-No one cares what you saw you lowlife scum!" Luna interrupted him with a ferocious look in her eyes.

"Then why are you being so defensive? If you're truly innocent, then you wouldn't be this belligerent." Skullak remarked casually. Luna turned her gaze to him.

"Belligerent? I'm just outraged that that little snake dares to accuse me of treachery!" she disputed, not at all happy with the situation she was in.

"Whether those accusations are true or not, you're not doing anything to prove him otherwise. Aren't you supposed to be the Primera?"

"Yes, but-"

"-Then you're also supposed to be a leader, and you're acting like nothing but a quarrelsome child." Skullak said in a calm manner. Aurelio smirked amused as he leaned back and watch it all unfold. If Denetsu had not stopped her, Luna would have most likely punched Skullak right through a wall.

"Don't you dare talk to me like that. I can still break your neck if I wanted to." she spat. It seemed oh so cunning Aurelio had found some allies. One of these days she was going to punch a hole through his empty head.

"Empty threats don't scare me." Skullak replied dryly. Luan felt her hands itching.

"Calm down." Denetsu said, annoyed with her behavior and agreed completely with Skullak. Luna jerked her hand from his grip and took a step back, like a cat that had been cornered. She glared at them.

"Tch. Men." she huffed, putting her hands in her pockets.

"We're amazing, we know." Aurelio responded hatefully. She looked at him.

"As for you, I know you're jealous of Kurosaki, but don't worry, darling. I wasn't flirting." Aurelio's cheeks turned red and Luna smirked amused, finally back to her old, calm but playful self.

"I'm not jealous! And don't call me darling!"

"Whatever you say, sweetheart."

"Stop it!"

"Okay, honey."

"Urgh, women…."

"We know you love us." As the two continued to argue, now in a more calm manner, Denetsu leaned back against the wall as he watched Luna. Why would she go talk to the enemy? And for what reasons? Denetsu knew everything about Luna's past with Aurelio, and saw a pattern. Could it be…?

'_If that's the case, then I know what to do.'_

* * *

"Oh my god!" Chié said, looking at Cruz as if she'd just had a 'Eureka' moment. Cruz tilted her head to the right, not understanding why she was so animated.

"What?" she asked curiously.

"I think I know what happened between Luna and Aurelio!" Chié told her with a glimmer in her eyes that promised something good.

"So? What happened?" Cruz asked eagerly, expecting something shocking and spectacular.

"I think they used to date!"

"Well, no shit they used to date. I thought you were a genius?" Cruz said with a frown, disappointed. Chié scratched the back of her head with an apologetic smile.

"I'm not that good when it comes to love-issues." she told Cruz, who rolled her eyes.

"So I've noticed. The big question is why they broke up in the first place."

"Well I don't know about that." Chié muttered slowly. Cruz sighed. "In any case, we'll just have to stay close to Luna and see if she says something to Denetsu that might be useful." the Noveno told Cruz.

"Good idea. Hey, where's Mai?"

"No idea. Must be inside. Why?"

"I need someone to spar with."

* * *

Mai got tired after a while of dragging and pulling Shiro around. Even when they were nearly out of the building, it was still very tiresome. He was much heavier than he looked, and she wondered when he was finally going to wake up. Yukiko lead the way, checking for any cameras and covering them before they continued. They had already located most of the Neo Espada. Two were still missing. The Fracción were all outside. They couldn't use Sonido since every move that involved reiatsu was measured by the devices in the walls and registered in the main computer. Ulquiorra was probably scanning it right now, seeing he was nowhere to be found.

"Come on, Mai!" Yukiko said a little impatient. Mai glared.

"You try dragging this overweight dwarf around... it's not as easy as it looks."

"Aren't you supposed to be stronger than me right now?"

"Shut up."

"And what do we have here?" Both Mai and Yukiko froze when hearing a familiar voice. They'd completely forgotten about Grimmjow. Mai turned around to face him and gazed up at him. He was standing right in front of her and towered above her.

"Otousan..." Yukiko didn't really know what to do. There was only indifference on Grimmjow's face. What was he going to do? Suddenly, he fell on the ground.

"OW! Son of a..."

"Roxette!"

"I'm sorry! I freaked out." Amaya was looking at Roxette who had a small statuette in her right hand. Not nearly enough to knock Grimmjow out, only to piss him off. Yukiko and Mai were completely confused.

"What the fuck?" Grimmjow looked at the two and got up. "I wasn't going to do anything!" he snarled, snatching the statuette out of Roxette's hands.

"Are you okay?" Mai asked.

"It was just a stupid sculpture." Grimmjow responded dryly.

"Well, we thought you were going to attack them or something, so I wanted to help." Roxette mumbled a little embarrassed. Grimmjow stared at her.

"By smacking me with a statuette you wanted to help?"

"I uh... yes?" Yukiko folded her arms, puzzled by the whole incident.

"What the hell is going on?" she asked, demanding an explanation. Amaya was the one to answer.

"Well, we were following you two for a while since we were kind of bored, and when we saw Grimmjow go after you we decided to check if everything was alright. And then Roxette smacked him with the little statuette." Amaya burst out into giggles as she looked at Roxette, who turned red. Yukiko now looked at Grimmjow.

"So were you going to stop us?" she asked. Grimmjow rubbed the back of his head before answering.

"I don't give a fuck. If you want to go on your little rescue mission, go ahead. Just don't get yourself killed."

"What if Ulquiorra discovers it? Will you cover for us?" Mai asked hopefully.

"Sure, anything to piss that emo bitch off." Grimmjow said casually, and put his hands in his pockets, proceeding to walk away. "Don't get your asses killed or captured." he said as he left, and disappeared around a corner. Yukiko and Mai were both relieved they had some extra help.

In the meanwhile, Takashi was hidden behind a wall, having listened and watched to all that took place. He looked at Mai and then at Yukiko. A faint smile graced his lips.

'_Let the snow fall.'_

* * *

**DUN DUN DUUUUUUUHN!**

**D'aaaw, this chapter is so damn short! D:**

**FORGIVEH MEEEH.**

**In any case, I'm just glad I have a proper plot set up nao. With all credits to Inhuman X who helped me out a lot. A LOOOOT!**

***cough* I decided to keep this chapter vague but hinting subtly to... what will unfold... eventually. I hope. So, I'd like to know what you guys think will happen.**

**And as usual, REVIEEEEWZ! And PM me some ideas and stuff. Or whatever. If you don't then that's cool.**

**BUT YOU HAVE 2 REVIEW! Becuz I neglected my other story because of this. :D**


	7. The Snow Falls

"Did you check the area?"

"Yep, we're clear. Let's move."

Takashi followed from a distance. He watched as they walked through the desert of Hueco Mundo, distancing themselves from Location Neo. Takashi sighed, as it was irritating to follow them while they were moving so slowly and arguing along the way. They were probably trying to get out of the reiatsu-sensing area so they could open a Garganta without being noticed. He was lucky that it had to be Yukiko who would save the Shinigami from certain death. Now he could easily tell Ulquiorra what had happened, and she would be labeled as a traitor.

"Are we out the zone yet?" Roxette asked, and Amaya answered.

"Not yet." she said as she was dragging Hitsugaya through the sand, holding his right foot. Yukiko frowned at her.

"Could you at least try to carry him?"

"Why? It's just a little sand."

"He's already wounded and you're not helping him." Yukiko remarked, seeing as Hitsugaya's head sometimes hit a small rock which probably wasn't helping him wake up. Amaya sighed and lifted him over her shoulder, brushing some sand off his clothes. They continued walking, and after two minutes, they were out the zone.

"Finally! So, I assume you want to drop him off at Karakura Town?" Mai said to Yukiko, who nodded.

"I-"

Her sentence was interrupted by loud roaring, something that could only be identified as the scream of a Hollow. Roxette frowned.

"Gillian?" she asked.

"No. Adjuchas. I sense one Vasto Lorde." Amaya said. She looked at Mai and Roxette. "You two can handle this, right? I'll go with Yukiko, in case the Shinigami decide to attack her." Both Mai and Roxette nodded, and with a quick Sonido disappeared, going toward the approaching Hollows. Amaya quickly opened a Garganta and went through it. Yukiko followed her. Takashi, who'd been hiding behind a rock, waited for at least thirty seconds before he too opened a Garganta to Karakura Town.

When he'd arrived at his destination, he noticed that he'd drifted off a little from Amaya and Yukiko's path. He looked around, and with a Pesquisa, sensed they were not that far away. But then, something caught his attention. Strange reiatsu beneath him. He looked down, and spotted a girl and two guys. He recognized the girl as Inoue Orihime. The other two were her friends. If Orihime was here, then Kurosaki could not be far away. Like predicted, he saw Kurosaki just a few feet away from them, probably having said goodbye and heading towards his home.

'_Perfect.'_ Takashi thought. He Sonido'd down when Ichigo went through a small street and was all alone, appearing in front of him. Ichigo took a step back, flustered.

"Who the hell are you?" he demanded to know.

"Yodimaru Takashi. Don't worry, I'm not here to fight you but rather to ask you something." the Fracción said nonchalantly, and put his hands in his pockets. Ichigo eyed him suspiciously.

"What do you want?" he responded.

"Is it true that you've talked to the Primera?"

"What of it?"

"What did you talk about?" Takashi continued to ask curiously. Ichigo scowled at him.

"It's none of your business. Why should I trust you?"

"Why should you trust her?" Takashi questioned him, and it was made clear that Ichigo had no idea why he trusted Luna. "Are you really that gullible?" Ichigo glared at him.

"Are you really that pessimistic? I have no reason to believe she would lie to me." was the former Shinigami's response.

"She's the Primera, if you regained your powers you would be her biggest opponent. She's trying to befriend you so later on she can betray you and get rid of you." Takashi explained to him in a very calm and almost monotone voice. Ichigo looked away for a second, probably thinking it over.

"Why do you care?" he eventually asked Takashi, who smiled at the inevitable question.

"We both have the same goal here, Ichigo. I want to get rid of the three strongest Neo Espada, and I believe that would also benefit you and the Shinigami. Why don't we work together?"

"You're asking me to betray her." Ichigo said, perplexed that Takashi had even made a suggestion like that.

"Is it any worse than what she was planning to do to you? She's not as genuine as she seems."

"Why would I trust you?" Ichigo repeated the question he'd asked in the beginning of the conversation.

"With me, you have nothing to lose. All I'm asking you is to help me take her down." Ichigo sighed, and then walked. He walked right past Takashi, who didn't react to this. "Think about it, Ichigo. Eventually, you'll find that I'm the more sensible choice." Ichigo stopped for a second and turned around to look at Takashi again, but he was already gone.

* * *

"Hey, calm the hell down!"

"Jeez, you people are so hostile!" The two neo Espada found themselves surrounded by the Shinigami. Amaya slowly dropped the Captain on the ground. "There, we just came to return him to you."

"Exactly, we don't want a fight."

"It's too late for that. No way we're going to let you two slip." A short, black haired Shinigami girl said and it seemed the others agreed. Amaya looked around. There was only one woman who could match her speed, Yoruichi Shihōin. The others wouldn't be too much of a problem, but she was worried about Yukiko. It would take way too much time for her to get in her Resurreción. They had to find a way to get away, avoiding a fight.

"Why? We haven't done anything wrong." Amaya said with a pout.

"Don't play dumb! You're planning on freeing Aizen!" a redheaded Shinigami shouted.

"That's debatable." Yukiko mumbled, and Amaya frowned slightly, looking at her.

"Either you two surrender now or we'll force you to." a guy with a bow and arrow pointed at them. Amaya started to giggle.

"Please! That's so arrogant! You think you could force _us_? I have news for you, we're Arrancar version 2.0! Don't compare us to the previous ones. We're much stronger than that!" she gloated, trying to buy them some time as Yukiko was trying to find a way to escape. They were completely surrounded, and she would have to depend on Amaya to get out of here alive.

"Enough talking!" the lieutenant of Hitsugaya decided. "Let's get them."

'_Shit.' _

"W-wait!" they all turned to the white haired Captain who'd just woken up and was slowly getting up.

"Taichō! You need to rest, you're-"

"-Let them go." he ordered, having a little trouble breathing. Everyone was shocked at seeing this. The Shinigami turned to a heated debate, when suddenly Amaya noticed a certain orange haired man who'd been watching all this time in silence.

"Oh, Ichigo!" she waved at him with a big smile on her face. Both Yukiko and Ichigo stared at her as if she'd lost her mind.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm waving!"

"I can see that, but why?" Amaya blinked, looking at her.

"Uh… I felt like it? Hey, Ichigooooo! What's up?" she yelled cheerfully, and chuckled at his puzzled expression. "Come on, don't pretend like you don't remember me! I tried to kill you last time when Luna got in the way, remember?"

"Amaya?"

"Hmm?"

"Maybe you shouldn't have said that."

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Ichigo yelled back at her.

"Don't be like that! Since you're friends with the Primera, I thought we could be friends too."

"What is she talking about?"

"Ichigo! What's the meaning of this?"

"The Primera? You befriended the Primera? Are you out of your mind!" Amaya grabbed Yukiko, swinging her over her shoulder.

"Hold on, here's our chance." Yukiko looked one last time at Hitsugaya and smiled at him. Surprisingly, he smiled back. Then, Amaya used Sonido to quickly get away, and when the others noticed they were already gone. She opened a Garganta and put Yukiko down again. The shorter girl looked at Amaya whose grin had faded away again. She seemed to be contemplating about something.

"Amaya?" Yukiko asked hesitantly.

"Yes?"

"Is it true? I mean, about Luna?"

"I intend to find out." without another word, Amaya went through the Garganta, and Yukiko followed her silently.

* * *

Ulquiorra sat down on a chair in the monitor room. A few Neo Espada were absent, which was unsettling. He leaned back in his chair, and frowned slightly as he looked at every screen on the huge monitor. He saw most Arrancar inside, some were outside where the cameras could see them, but others were missing. Grimmjow was sitting near the window, looking like he was bored as usual. But then, someone knocked on the door.

"Come in." he said coolly as he continued to watch the screens.

"Grimmjow-sama, Ulquiorra-sama."

"What is it?" They both looked at the Fracción, Shiro, who was smiling.

"I think you have already noticed that a few Neo Espada are missing." Ulquiorra now fully brought his attention to the green haired Fracción while Grimmjow just stared out the window.

"What do you know about it?"

"I can say that one of them has been seen carrying the Shinigami prisoner outside the building." Ulquiorra kept looking at him, no emotion displayed on his face.

"Who was this person?"

"Yukiko Jeagerjaques."

Grimmjow sighed. Stupid brat, getting caught like that. Obviously he still had to teach her the definition of being stealthy. But for now, she was in deep trouble.

* * *

"Damn, that was easy." Mai said as she sheathed her sword again. Around them a few Adjunchas were dissolving. The Vasto Lorde had fled when seeing them. Roxette sighed, wondering if Yukiko and Amaya had completed their mission. She looked around, and then stopped. She saw Aurelio and Skullak hanging out.

"What an unusual combination." Roxette remarked, gaining Mai's attention who frowned.

"What is that snake's business with Skullak?" she asked.

"Snake? He seems like a nice guy to me." Mai looked at Roxette, and her lips formed an 'o'.

"Right, you don't know what he did to Luna, huh?"

"What? What did he do?"

"I don't know if I should tell you… I found out by accident and she made me swear not to tell." She then grabbed Roxette's wrist and dragged her to a nearby rock where they could hide. Mai gestured to Roxette to stay silent and they listened closely.

"…do you think?"

"I'm not sure if I should trust you."

"Why not? We both don't like her, right? You think she's unfit to be a leader, and I have my reasons to think we should get rid of her."

"What are your reasons, might I ask?"

"Does it matter? Look, Skullak, if you keep being a nice guy you're not gonna make it. You need to be tough on your leader and strike when she's weak."

"Very well. But you have to know that I have no intention in killing her."

"Fine, whatever you want." A few footsteps, and both the girls felt that Skullak had left. When mai was about to confront them, they felt another presence appear out of nowhere. It was Kanna.

"What are you doing here?" they heard her ask suspiciously.

"Kanna. You look lovely today-"

"-Answer my question."

"I'm just hanging out, is that so wrong? Why do you care? Did you miss me?"

"Please. Ulquiorra called a meeting. The prisoner, including four Neo Espada, have disappeared."

"How strange. I suppose I'll join you, then." the two disappeared and both Mai and Roxette came out their hiding place. Mai sighed, thinking about what they'd just heard.

"Do you think we should warn Luna?" Roxette asked her. Mai nodded shortly.

"But I'm sure she'll be able to handle it. Besides, we have other things to worry about."

"Yukiko and Amaya."

"That, and we need to come up with an excuse for our absence."

* * *

A few Fracción were relaxing in the lounge. Saturo and Kaito were playing chess, though Saturo was really getting annoyed because Kaito was winning big time. Cirucci, Rudobon and Findor just watched a little bored as Ggio and Apacci were yelling at each other again. It was so obvious they liked each other, but just didn't want to admit it. Saturo narrowed his eyes when Kaito made a move towards his king.

"Think you're smart?" he sneered.

"Stop talkin' trash and play." Kaito answered him with a frown. Saturo pouted, and then reluctantly moved his queen, watching Kaito's face, which betrayed nothing. When he was done, Sato waited for Kaito's move. Kaito suddenly grabbed his horse, and without Saturo having noticed it, he was checkmate.

"WHAT? This is bullshit! You cheated! Cheater! Filthy cheat!" Saturo cried like a little kid. Kaito rolled his eyes. Suddenly, the door opened.

"Guys! Have you seen Luna?" Chié asked them, accompanied by Cruz. The Fracción thought this particular combo was very odd, but didn't say anything about it.

"Dunno, check the roof."

"Thanks!" they left again.

"CHEATER!"

"Sore loser." Kaito said, leaning back in his seat.

"I'm gonna tell Amaya!"

"You're such a baby!"

"You're a cheater!"

"I didn't cheat, asshole!" Saturo got up, glaring at him even though Kaito towered above him.

"Yeah you did! You're just a stupid cheater! You're scared I would win so you cheated!"

"How the fuck am I going to cheat? You were staring at the board the whole time!"

"Details!" Cirucci sighed annoyed, looking at Ggio and Apacci who were now in the stage of throwing stuff at each other again. Kaito decided to go back to Kanna again, but Saturo wasn't about to let him go that easily.

"Apologize!" the smaller boy demanded. Kaito raised an eyebrow. Was this kid serious?

"For what?"

"For cheating!" Kaito felt his hands itching.

"For the last time, you little brat, I did NOT cheat! Now stop bitching before I choke you to death!" he snapped at him. He turned around to walk away, when Saturo grabbed his hair and pulled. "OW! YOU LITTLE BITCH!"

"APOLOGIZE!"

"NO!" Kaito grabbed a pillow and hit Saturo in the face. The two started fighting, and the three indifferent Fracción just watched as the lounge was being destroyed by objects flying in every possible direction.

"Stop. Right now." the fighting stopped in an instant when Kanna entered the room. They all stared at her. She had a very serious expression on her face that didn't predict anything good.

"Kanna, what's up?" Kaito asked, pushing Saturo off him.

"Ulquiorra has requested everyone to come to the meeting room immediately." Kanna turned around and left, followed by the Fracción.

* * *

Every single Neo Espada sat down on the large table, their Fracción behind them, watching closely. There was an ominous atmosphere in the room that indicated something was wrong. When Ulquiorra entered, it was clear that whatever was going on, it was big. Ulquiorra looked around, looking at each Espada, and sat down on the seat. Grimmjow was in the corner in the shadows, just watching as he leaned against the wall.

"Where are the Segunda and Cero?" he asked in a calm tone.

"We're right here!" the door opened and the two walked in. Saturo frowned at Amaya. She'd just suddenly left without telling him a thing. She sat down on her seat. Yukiko also sat down, Shiro and Takashi standing right behind her, Shiro smiling like usual.

"What's this meeting about?" Skullak asked, resting his head on his hand.

"The prisoner has escaped." Ulquiorra answered. There was a general feel of shock. Yukiko tried to keep her face straight. Her eyes met Grimmjow's, and when he shook his head, she knew it was over. She was found out. Ulquiorra looked straight at her. "Do you have an explanation for this, Yukiko?" Everyone turned to look at her. Mai, Roxette and Amaya were surprised they weren't mentioned.

"I…." she couldn't come up with anything.

"She was disposing the body." Roxette spoke up. "Right, Yukiko?"

"Yeah. That was exactly what I was doing." Yukiko agreed, avoiding eye-contact with Ulquiorra.

"That's odd, considering that he was still alive when you carried him out the building. There was still a modicum of reiatsu that was detected."

'_I'm fucked.'_

"I have reasons to believe you have betrayed us by helping the prisoner escape." there was a very intense silence. When both Mai and Amaya were about to protest, she stood up.

"Well, I guess the act is over. You're right, I helped him escape." Ulquiorra continued to stare at her for a while.

"Kanna, Amaya, take her to her cell. Aizen-sama will decide what to do with her." No one spoke up as the two Neo Espada got up and led Yukiko out the room. Grimmjow didn't even flinch. "Takashi." The Fracción looked up.

Yes, Ulquiorra-sama?" he responded calmly.

"I trust you will take her position as the Cero Espada for now."

"Of course." Takashi said with a bow, a small smile on his lips that went unnoticed by the others.

"Now we can discuss strategy."

"Eh? Strategy for what?" Cruz asked loudly.

"Invasion of Soul Society within five days. We have located Muken and know who has the key to get into Aizen-sama's cell. As suspected, the Captain-Commander keeps it with him at all times."

"How are we going to snatch it away?" Aurelio commented as he leaned back in his chair.

"I suspect that they know our plan by now, but I doubt they'll re-locate the key."

"Who's gonna go get it?"

"I was counting on Amaya and Kanna, since Luna will lead the attack as the Primera-"

"-I don't want to." Luna interrupted him shortly. "Let Skullak do it. He seems to know everything better. I'll go fetch that key on my own."

"Take Amaya with you."

"I don't need-"

"-That's an order." Luna sighed annoyed and folded her arms, slouching in her seat like a displeased teenager. "Now, Skullak, you'll lead the initial attack in Soul Society. The Fracción and Takashi will keep the Shinigami in Karakura Town busy during that time."

"Yes, sir." Ulquiorra had a list of the Shinigami Captains, and told everyone to pick their target, excluding the Captain of Squad 4 and the Captain-Commander. That left eight Captains to take care of, seeing how the spots of Aizen, Gin and Tōsen still hadn't been filled. The strengths and specialties of their target were revealed. Some immediately knew which Captain they wanted to take on. Others didn't really care. When the meeting was over, the Neo Espada left one by one.

Outside, separated from all the others, Mai, Roxette and Amaya stood together, discussing what had just happened.

"Someone saw her and ratted her out. But why not us?" Mai wondered.

"They couldn't afford to lock up four Espada. But then remains the question, why specifically her? She's the strongest, it doesn't make sense to take her out the battle." Roxette muttered thoughtfully.

"Well, maybe they just spotted her before any of us came."

"No, that's not it. Ulquiorra did mention that they saw her walk out the building with the Shinigami, so they must've seen us too." Amaya said as she stared out the window.

"Who would want her out?"

"Aurelio." Mai suddenly said. Roxette immediately understood what she was talking about. Amaya looked from one to the other.

"What do you mean? Why would Aurelio want that?" she asked with a frown.

"I don't know, but we heard him speaking with Skullak about taking Luna out. Maybe they want to take in their ranks." Roxette told her, folding her arms. Amaya sighed.

"Well, I suppose it's the best guess we have. First, I want to talk to Luna. You two go confront Aurelio and see what he has to say for himself." Mai and Roxette nodded. They each when their own direction, not noticing three certain Arrancar hiding behind a wall who'd overheard their conversation. They came out from their hiding spot.

"Be proud, Takashi. Everything's going according to plan, they don't suspect a thing." Denetsu said with an amused smirk.

"I'm not entirely sure about that. We need to keep out of sight if we want to continue." Takashi answered coolly. "Shiro, what do you think? What's next?"

"I suspect that the Moon might shine in Karakura Town."

"Leave this one to me. I have the perfect plan." Denetsu stated with a smirk.

"Fine. But don't-"

"-Yeah yeah, don't screw it up. I know. Just trust me." Without another word, they went their own direction.

Five days from now, they would invade Soul Society, and hopefully their plan had succeeded by then.

* * *

_**Neo Espada Encyclopedia **_

"_Dammit, Ulquiorra! __Just do it!"_

A notable sigh was heard. The lights went on, revealing Ulquiorra in front of a whiteboard.

"For some reason I was assigned to be the host for Neo Espada Encyclopedia. To be clear, I do not care about the Neo Espada and the only reason I'm doing this is because the annoying author of this story thought it would be funny after one of her annoying reviewers-"

"_-Ulquiorra!"_ The former Espada sighed again, clearly getting aggravated.

"Today's subject is Amaya and her medicine."

"Hi!" she popped up out of nowhere with a wide smile. Ulquiorra stared at her.

"…Right. Amaya is some sort of schizophrenic nutjob, and needs her medicine to stay sane or her Zanpakutō spirit will take over because of her weak will." Ulquiorra looked at Amaya who was glaring intensely. Suddenly, Saturo randomly slid into the screen.

"Guys, need some help here!" Kanna and Cruz (appeared out of nowhere like freaking ninjas) grabbed Amaya by her arms so she wouldn't rip apart Ulquiorra as Saturo attempted to force the medicine in her mouth.

"Do. Not. Want!"

"You know what will happen if you don't!"

"I don't care! It tastes disgusting! BWAAAAAH!" she started fake crying randomly and kicking in the air like a little child. When Saturo tried to force it down, she shook her head wildly. "You big meanie! I don't like you anymore!"

"For fuck's sake, shut her up already!" Cruz yelled, having trouble with restraining her. Suddenly Ulquiorra grabbed the pill and almost forced it down her throat. Amaya stared at him as she reluctantly swallowed it.

"Now shut up." Ulquiorra ordered her. Amaya pouted.

"Meanie."

* * *

**TADAAA. I actually already wrote the next chapter, sooo I'll update that later tomorrow. Or today. Wait, is it Sunday already? Damn, then that means I'll have to update it today when I wake up again. It's like 2 AM over here. My dad's gonna be so pissed if he finds me still behind the computer.**

**I should probably go to sleep now before I start ranting too much XD**

**GOOD NITE! AND DUNT FORGET TAH REVIEWWWWWWWWWW!11!1one!eleven**


	8. The Moon Sets

Chié and Cruz wandered around in the building, obviously bored. The betrayal of Yukiko had come as a shock, but there wasn't anything they could do about it. As they walked through the many corridors of Location Neo, they spotted Amaya walking in a rhythmic pace up the stairs, her long hair dancing behind her. The two glanced at each other, and decided to follow since there was nothing better to do. They would've questioned Yukiko, but she was in high-security lockdown and Kanna wouldn't let anyone get near her without approval of Ulquiorra.

After a few minutes of following, it was clear Amaya was headed to the roof. Coincidentally that was also where Luna was relaxing. It seemed as though the Primera had decided to abandon her room permanently and claim the roof as her own territory. Since there were no hiding spots to spy on her, Cruz and Chié were left with nothing to do. But now they could at least overhear a conversation, but they had to be stealthy. Something that wasn't one of Cruz's strong points.

When they finally got to the roof, they stayed behind the door and listened closely. For a few seconds, nothing was said. There were some footsteps, but other than that only silence. Eventually, Amaya spoke.

"Hey, you look lonely. Where's Denetsu?" another silence. It seemed Luna was reluctant to talk. "So, I heard you made a new friend." Amaya continued in a cheerful, almost child-like manner. The two spies heard someone moving, probably Luna standing up.

"Who told you that?"

"Is it true?"

The two spies knew they were talking about Kurosaki Ichigo.

"Maybe, maybe not. Either way, it's none of your business."

"What are you doing, Luna? You know you'll get locked up like Yukiko if anyone catches you. Doesn't that concern you?"

"All I did was talk to him. You're making it sound like I slept with him or something."

"Do you want to?" Amaya chuckled and there was a loud, frustrated sigh from Luna.

"If you want a serious conversation, I suggest you stop being annoying."

"I still want a rematch." both Chié and Cruz were now tense. If these two started to fight right now, they probably wouldn't be able to withstand the reiatsu and collapse on the ground.

"But that's not what you came here for. You didn't even come here to talk about Ichigo."

"You're on a first-name basis? You work fast."

"Stop avoiding the point." Luna, obviously, wasn't in the mood for games. She seemed agitated for some reason. Amaya decided not to dance around the issue any longer.

"What happened between you and Aurelio?" another cold silence. Chié could easily sense the change in Luna's reiatsu. She was getting angry.

"That doesn't concern you." she said in an unusual cold tone. It was unlike her to be so icy, usually she would start raising her voice and get in a defensive stance. However, Amaya disregarded this quickly and replied to her.

"Actually, it does. He's planning to kill you, you know. Or, at least, take over your rank."

"Yeah, I know. What else is new?" Luna seemed to relax a little again.

"Doesn't this bother you?"

"Not in the least. He's been trying to ever since… never mind." Cruz could imagine a bitter smile plastered on the Primera's face.

"Skullak is into it too." There was a brief silence before Amaya continued. "Though it's more likely that he only wants you gone, presumably because he thinks you're an unfit leader."

"He's right. I don't lead, I don't follow. I don't even understand why I'm still here. Aizen can rot in Muken for all I care."

"So you run to the enemy for comfort?"

"For a fair fight."

"I could give you a fair fight!"

"You're still a child."

"Look who's talking." Both Cruz and Chié now peeked outside. They saw Luna standing in front of Amaya, a smirk displayed on her face. Amaya was smirking back. But then, Luna's face turned serious, and she sighed.

"You don't understand."

"Enlighten me!" Amaya seemed cheerful still.

"I want a fight to the death." The Segunda's smirk faded away and she seemed startled by this and looked at the Primera in bemusement. Luna looked away, her eyes off into space and blank. "There's nothing left for me here. There's no reason for me to go on. When I first met you, I thought you would be able to-"

"-To kill you." Luna smiled bitterly when her sentence was finished. Both Cruz and Chié gasped at this sudden revelation. Not once had they got that impression that she was suffering as was apparent now, but then again, Luna hadn't been close to anyone but Denetsu.

"Exactly. But I knew you wouldn't be able to kill me without a reason. You're good-natured. So I thought maybe the enemy could put an end to my misery. If he can defeat Aizen, he will have no problem finishing me off." Amaya looked shocked.

"You're… why would you want that?" Luna turned her back on her and walked to the edge of the building, sitting back on her original spot. "Luna, what did Aurelio do?"

"Leave."

"No! I want to know why-"

"-Then I'll leave." Luna got up, and opened a Garganta. It seemed she'd finally learned how to open one. Amaya frowned deeply.

"Where are you going?"

"Where do you think?"

"Luna!" it was too late. The Garganta closed behind her. Amaya was left behind, partially frustrated and partially still puzzled. Cruz and Chié Sonido'd away before Amaya came back, and a few stories down they stopped and stared at each other.

"This is… this is really serious." Cruz muttered uneasily, scratching the back of her head. "What should we do?" Chié bit her lip.

"Maybe we should talk to Aurelio."

* * *

Yukiko stared down at the ground. So, so stupid. Why had she done that? Just why? Why did she have to care? She almost banged the back of her head against the wall. Now she was stuck here, chained down to the ground both hands and feet. Who'd seen her? That question plagued her mind constantly as she stared at the menacing white floor. Now she knew how Tōshirō had felt when being locked up in a place like this. The silence was unbearable. The walls seemed to be creeping towards her, the little cell she was in becoming smaller and smaller with the second.

She closed her eyes, trying to fall asleep but that didn't help. She would have to wait until Aizen got back and decided her punishment which could be being degraded to be a Privaron or worse: execution. The only 'company' she had was Kanna, who just ignored her. Yukiko imagined it to be frustrating to the Tercera to be guarding her. Suddenly, she spoke.

"Why did you do it?" Kanna asked, her voice penetrating the walls and being heard by Yukiko, who was very surprised at this.

"He didn't deserve it." was her answer. Her ass started to hurt. She wished Ulquiorra had at least given her some sort of pillow to sit on. And her useless father wasn't here either. He didn't even protest when she got arrested.

"Do you like him?" another unexpected question from Kanna, and Yukiko could hear the curiosity in her voice, together with the uneasiness. It was obvious she wasn't used to asking such personal questions.

"We're friends."

"You know that's not what I meant." Yukiko looked at the window on her right. It was a very small window with extremely thick glass. She couldn't even reach it with the chains holding her back, reiatsu-sucking chains, mind you.

"Maybe I do." she answered eventually. The Shinigami was endearing, but not in a child-like way even though he was one. She wasn't sure if it was 'love' as humans and Shinigami called it, but she sure felt an unexplainable feeling when she thought about him. He was cute, intelligent, and didn't view her as a monster. When she closed her eyes, she could imagine him smiling.

"Doesn't it bother you that he's a Shinigami?" Kanna asked, now not hiding her curiosity any longer.

"No. Not at all. Strange, huh?" Yukiko replied. There was another silence. "Why did you want to know?"

"General curiosity."

* * *

Aurelio leaned back, playing chess with Skullak as his Fracción were behind him doing random stuff and the usual arguing. He tried to stay one step ahead, but eventually, Aurelio was checkmate.

"Damn, you're good." he complimented him with a smile. Skullak just glanced at him, then continued to keep an eye on his Fracción, to make sure things didn't get out of hand.

"Thanks." he muttered as he stared at Cirucci who'd just yelled at Ggio for seemingly being an idiot. Aurelio looked around. Other than them, there was no one here. He'd noticed the Neo Espada had all formed their little 'cliques' ever since things started to get heated up. With exception to Luna and Kanna, everyone had their little group. He frowned slightly. Cruz and Chié had been hanging around Luna a lot lately, he couldn't afford them to interfere. Suddenly, Denetsu entered the room, without Luna. That was odd. Usually Denetsu was around his superior, but not today.

"Hey, Denetsu! Where's Luna?" Aurelio asked.

"I don't know. I saw her open a Garganta, but she disappeared before I could ask." Denetsu said with a shrug. Aurelio smirked and got up from his seat. Perfect.

"Skullak?"

"Hm?"

"Time for us to go." The two Neo Espada stood up and left. Denetsu couldn't believe his plan worked out this smoothly. All he did was say one line and things would easily play out without further aid!

"Psh, and they think I would screw up!" Denetsu muttered contently, and sat down on the couch, relaxed. He did wonder what would happen, though. Considering Aurelio and Luna's past, it could get very nasty.

But what did he care? As long as his plan worked out, everything would be just fine.

* * *

He walked down the river, heading home after having trained for over seven hours with Ginjō and Riruka. He'd skipped school entirely. Not only because he wanted to protect his friends and family, but also because he wanted to live up to his promise. He'd explained his entire situation to the others, and they had understood. Of course, Ichigo wasn't the only one who'd been attacked with questions. Hitsugaya had been interrogated by his subordinates for a while now, and it was obvious they couldn't fathom how he'd befriended an Arrancar. Ichigo did understand. He'd befriended Nel, and it seemed he and Luna had come to some sort of understanding. She was a very peculiar Arrancar, though. What did she really want?

"Hey." a familiar voice interrupted his train of thought. He looked at the river and saw Luna standing there by riverside, staring at him with a little smile. How coincidental. Ichigo stopped walking, and remembered what Takashi had told him a day ago. Was she really out to kill him? She certainly didn't look like it.

"Hey." he responded back. She seemed a little off. Different from when he'd last seen her.

"Still didn't get your powers back, huh?" she remarked. He shook his head, then smirked.

"Don't worry, I'm working on it."

"Good." Ichigo frowned slightly.

"But that's not the reason you came here." he noted. She didn't answer, and sat down on the grass. Ichigo took a few steps towards her, and could see she was contemplating something. "Why are you here?"

"I don't know." she responded honestly as she plucked at the grass absently. She seemed puzzled. "I just felt like coming here. I guess I needed a place to think." Ichigo sat down across her, not even noticing what he was doing himself.

"About what?" he tried not to be rude but he was just curious. Luna continued to pluck the grass.

"Several things. But I guess they don't matter."

"Then why think about them? You should do something more useful with your time, like prepare for our battle." Ichigo told her with a frown. She looked up at him, and suddenly smiled. The way she was staring at him caught him off guard, and he didn't know where to look or how to behave.

"You remind me of him." she muttered. Her smile faded away, and she sighed.

"Of who?"

"Just someone I used to know. Always so curious. Constantly asking questions." Her gaze shifted to her knees as her frown deepened.

"Is he dead?" Ichigo asked carefully. She nodded gloomily. "Did you love him? I… I mean uh…." He wanted to hit himself for asking such a stupid question, and Luna chuckled when he turned red.

"Yeah, I did. Very much. He meant the world to me."

"What was his name?" she looked him right in the eyes. Ichigo felt like those two bright blue eyes could see right through him, and started blushing again. Why was he blushing? Why was he being such an idiot? Luna opened her mouth to answer, but then she froze, her eyes widening. Suddenly, someone stood right behind her, a sword came down but she dodged it right on time with Sonido. Suddenly Ichigo felt someone grabbing his shirt, and in a split-second he was across the street, Luna having pulled him out of harm's way. Ichigo recognized the red haired man from earlier, Aurelio. This time, there was another man with him, one he did not recognize.

"Kazuo." Aurelio answered Ichigo's question, staring right at him. "His name was Kazuo." Beside him, Luna had a blank look in her eyes, which was more frightening than her intense glare.

"What are you doing here?" the unknown man asked Luna. She didn't answer. Ichigo looked from Luna to Aurelio.

"She's betraying us, that's what she's doing. I should've seen this coming the moment you started hanging out around that human." Ichigo frowned, wanting to say something, but Aurelio continued. "Not you. Kazuo." Ichigo was dumbstruck. He looked at Luna who hadn't even flinched the entire time.

"He was human?" Aurelio laughed at this question.

"Oh, she didn't tell you that, did she? She fell in love with that feeble human. It was pathetic!" he snarled. "She preferred that weakling over me, so I decided to teach her a lesson. She now knows what happens when you engage with a weakling, and yet she comes here to hang around _you_! It's disgusting."

"You killed him just because you were jealous? You're the only thing that's disgusting!" Aurelio narrowed his eyes at Ichigo's statement.

"It seems like she still hasn't learned her lesson." The Cuatro started to walk towards them, holding his sword firmly. Ichigo took a step back, but then Luna unsheathed her sword and stood in front of him.

"You should run." Luna told him. Ichigo scowled.

"What about you?"

"I'll be fine, just go!"

"But-" Luna blocked Aurelio's attack with one hand easily, their swords clashed and created an unpleasant sound. But Aurelio wasn't aiming for her, he was aiming for Ichigo.

"What are you doing? You know this is treason. You won't be allowed to return."

"Frankly, I don't care." was Luna's cold response. Suddenly, Aurelio got out of the way and the other Arrancar attacked Luna. Ichigo watched, but then he froze when feeling the sharp edge of a blade being held against his throat.

'_Shit. This is bad.' _Luna immediately stopped fighting and looked at Aurelio and Ichigo.

"Let him go!" she demanded. Aurelio smiled slyly.

"Surrender. You may be fast, but even you aren't fast enough to stop my blade from cutting his head off."

"What stops you now?" Luna responded coldly.

"Like you said, I wouldn't want to take away Aizen-sama's revenge, unless you force me to." There was a tense silence. Eventually, Luna threw her sword on the ground. "You've always been too sentimental for your own good, Luna." In an instant he was right in front of her. Ichigo didn't know what had happened until he saw blood dripping on the ground. Aurelio's entire blade had impaled her stomach. Ichigo wanted to do something, but he was almost powerless. There was nothing he could do.

'_I'm so damn useless.'_

Aurelio removed his sword, but then cut her again, from her right shoulder to her left hip, and another horizontal cut on her waist, almost cutting her in half. She fell down on the ground, incapacitated.

"Aurelio, there was no need for this!" the other Espada spoke aggravated. Aurelio shrugged.

"She's a traitor, isn't she? Besides, I didn't kill her." he sheathed his bloody sword while looking down at Luna who had her eyes closed, then looked at Ichigo who was frozen on the spot. "Well, see you later."

They opened a Garganta and left as Ichigo finally rushed over to Luna's side who was still breathing. Ichigo pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number.

"_Hello?" _

"Inoue, I need you, now!"

* * *

"Wow, you didn't screw up." Shiro commented. Denetsu smirked widely and proudly. After news had gotten out that Luna was a traitor, he'd been ordered to substitute her rank as the Primera since he was her Fracción. Amaya walked right past them, overhearing that part of their conversation and seeing how Denetsu was gloating about it. She narrowed her eyes, but didn't stop as she joined Roxette outside. She was watching Mai and Cruz spar while Nel was sleeping next to her.

"You heard what happened?" Amaya asked her, and the Octava nodded slowly. "I warned her, and she didn't listen."

"Amaya!" Saturo joined them randomly, but Amaya and Roxette ignored him.

"So, what do we do now?"

"First we need to make sure if they were also behind Yukiko disappearing, though I doubt that." Roxette looked at her in question as Mai was smashed in a rock right next to them.

"How so?" she asked.

"AMAYA!"

"WHAT?" the Segunda gave Saturo an annoyed glare, and he backed down.

"Sorry. Never mind." she sighed.

"I noticed Denetsu gloating about how he's the new Primera. Isn't that a little strange?" Roxette shrugged.

"Some Fracción just don't care about their leaders. You may not understand that, but that's how it works most of the time." she told her, and Amaya bit her lip, still not convinced.

"There's something wrong with those three Fracción."

"What are you getting at?"

"Nothing." Amaya walked off again, back into the building. Her place was taken by Chié, who started chatting with Roxette. Saturo followed her, curious, but didn't ask any questions. When she walked upstairs to the first floor, she heard voices nearby.

"…have to do with anything?"

"We should gain a little knowledge on our enemies before we fight them, don't you think?" she recognized Takashi's voice and stayed hidden, gesturing Saturo to also stay quiet.

"So we're leaving to Soul Society? As in, right now? How are we going to do that with the-"

"-I temporarily shut down the system of the building. No one will notice us opening a portal."

"See, Den-chan? Takashi always thinks about everything before he does it, unlike you."

"Don't call me that, stupid grasshead!"

"Don't hate on my hair color. You know you want it too."

"As if!"

"Settle down." Takashi interrupted. "We need to be stealthy if we want to leave without being found out."

"What are you staring at me for?" Denetsu snarled grumpily.

"Let's just leave before Den-chan gets a temper-tantrum."

"Shut up!" There was a silence, a few footsteps, and then nothing. Amaya sneaked up the stairs, and found a white hole that was slowly closing.

"Amaya, are you-"

"-Stay here. If I don't come back, tell Mai and Roxette what happened." Saturo pouted.

"But Amaya-" she went through the white hole, and it closed behind her. She was gone.

* * *

_**Neo Espada Encyclopedia **_

The lights went on, revealing Ulquiorra again.

"Today, our subjects are Kanna and Kaito Itō." he spoke in a monotone voice. The two popped up, Kanna just staring at the screen and Kaito smirking.

"Yo!" he greeted.

"They are twins and generally get along well, but since Kaito is a weakling he is her Fracción."

"Hey! Fuck you." Kaito glared at him and Kanna smirked amused.

"As you can see, Kaito is also the rude one."

"I am NOT rude!"

"And hot-tempered."

"Lies!"

"And more likely to deny truthful accusations."

"Is it _let's-bash-Kaito_-day or something? Pick on Kanna!" Ulquiorra stared at Kanna, who stared back evenly.

"She's alright."

"Ass-hole!"

* * *

**I TOLD U I WUZ GOING TAH UPDATE TODAY! :D**

**Nao, bcuz I've been so awesomesauce and have updated WITHIN A FREAKING DAY, I expect a WHOLE BUNCH of reviews, because my fingers are hurting D':**

**Hey, this was a pretty romantic chapter :O**

**RVWZ. NAO.**

**Bye bye :D**


	9. The Rain is Washed Away

She'd never been to Soul Society before. It was exactly how she'd imagined it to be. The buildings were standard white with dark colored roofs, the streets neat and clean and at the center point there was a prominent, large white tower sticking out like a sore thumb. Amaya had easily memorized the important buildings and the map of Seireitei, the Capital City of Soul Society. The tower was known as Senzaikyū, the place where they kept the Shinigami who broke the law and possibly send them up to the Sōkyoku Hill, where they would be executed. The Central 46 Compound was another important building, but the Neo Espada would be mainly aiming for the Gotei Thirteen's Barracks and Headquarters.

Amaya shook her head and looked around. She was lucky it was night time, so she wouldn't be as easily spotted. Then again, Takashi had probably planned on visiting Soul Society during the night. Now where were those three pesky Fracción? She finally spotted them on the roof of a little shop, and Sonido'd in an alleyway nearby, just close enough to hear them talk.

"How are you so sure he has the key?" she heard Denetsu speak.

"He's the Captain-Commander. He's the only one who could have the key, or know the whereabouts of said object." Takashi answered him.

"Are you planning on snatching it away now?"

"Of course not. I just need to confirm whether or not he carries the key."

"How are you-" Shiro stopped talking mid-sentence. Amaya froze. Had they sensed her presence? She tensed when she realized there was a Shinigami nearby. Luckily, it was a weak one, and Amaya doubted the Shinigami would even sense their presence. She stayed silent and didn't move, listening to the slow footsteps.

"Hello? Renji, is that you?" it was the voice of a female. Amaya saw the figure of a voluptuous woman walking down the street. "Ugh, I'm drunk. I knew I should've left earlier!" she woman complained. She tripped over her own feet and fell down on the ground. She was unconscious.

"Hm. In any case, everything is going well according to plan."

"It went smoother than I expected. I mean, I thought I would have to be the one to confront Luna, but Aurelio and Skullak did it for me."

"Catching Yukiko was easier, though. It's funny how the supposedly strongest Arrancar fall so quickly." Amaya was nailed to the ground. They had set them up. Both Luna and Yukiko were now labeled as traitors and cast away, just so they could have their ranks. She clenched her hands into fists, feeling an unknown force shooting through her body like a lightning strike. She was beyond furious. With one jump, she landed on the roof. The three Fracción looked up to her. In her rage, she didn't realize none of them were surprised seeing her.

"This ends here." she spoke, her voice almost trembling.

"Yes, I agree." Takashi said sternly.

"Just tell me why you did it." Amaya demanded an explanation for their treason. Had they no sense of loyalty?

"We don't need to explain ourselves to you." Shiro said calmly, a smile gracing his lips. Amaya felt her fingers twitch. It was odd, but she ignored it and unsheathed Viuda Blanca. Takashi, however, didn't.

"You look a little pale, Amaya-san." he noted.

"Don't worry. Your main concern is to keep your head." Amaya growled at him, though the twitching started to get worse. She gritted her teeth. What was happening? She heard Viuda Blanca laugh in her head and was petrified for a few seconds.

"Ah, didn't you take your medicine?" Takashi asked.

"Of course I did!" Amaya narrowed her eyes. Suddenly, her vision started to get blurred. Impossible, she was sure she'd taken the pills just this morning.

"Did you take the _correct_ medicine?" Denetsu asked, pulling a pink bottle of pills out his pockets. Amaya gasped.

"You-" Viuda Blanca didn't allow her to finish her sentence. Her Zanpakutō spirit took over. Her eyes turned black. Denetsu was a little unsure.

"Are you sure we did the right thing? I mean, last time this happened she did destroy half of Las Noches."

"Don't worry. The last time she went in Berserker mode I observed her closely. Of course, the power is monstrous and very destructive, but that's about it. Watch." Amaya, or rather, Viuda Blanca smirked.

"Time for you to die!" she raised her sword, and Takashi was right in front of her with a quick Sonido.

"You're wide open." Two cuts, and she was incapacitated. She started screaming at them, but couldn't move too much because of her wounds. Takashi looked at the others. "A weakness when she's in that mode, is that she doesn't think about defense."

"Wow. Well, I guess that takes care of her. What do we do with her?"

"Obviously we can't just leave her here. They'll start to question our whereabouts as well." Shiro answered Denetsu's question. "Den-chan is so stupid sometimes." he said playfully. Denetsu glared at him, which was pointless since Shiro was blind, but he didn't seem to realize that himself. Takashi rolled his eyes.

"Get her back to Location Neo. I'll go on with our mission." he ordered. Shiro nodded and opened a portal back to Location N. Denetsu seemed a little grumpy but complied either way. He lifted Amaya up, and stepped through the portal. Shiro stopped for a moment.

"Be careful now. We can't afford you getting caught." he told his friend.

"When do I ever get caught?" Takashi responded amused.

"Touché."

* * *

Saturo knew something was wrong. He just had this icky feeling in the pit of his stomach. He almost bumped into Skullak who'd been on his way to go outside. He mumbled a quick 'sorry' before moving on. What should he do? Should he just wait until Amaya returned? Well, that was his only option. It wasn't like he could open a portal to Soul Society like Takashi did. He bit his lip, anxious and worried. He completely ignored Chié who'd greeted him, and didn't even hear Grimmjow asking him a question when he passed him.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Saturo eventually looked up, and realized he was in the dungeons. Kanna stared at him, her arms folded across her chest. Kaito was sleeping on the ground against the wall in a sitting position, snoring contently.

"I uh…." Saturo looked at the cell she was guarding. That was Yukiko's cell. "I was wondering if I could talk to Yukiko." Kanna shrugged.

"Go ahead."

"I mean alone." Kanna narrowed her eyes. "You know I'm not strong nor stupid enough to break her out." The Tercera eventually nodded, grabbing Kaito by his shirt and dragging him away. This didn't even wake the Fracción up. He kept on snoring. Saturo walked to Yukiko's cell and peeked into it through the small glass window. He had to stand on his toes though, because it was so high. Yukiko was staring at the ground in front of her, a blank expression on her face. Saturo knocked on the glass and got her attention.

"What are you doing here?" Yukiko asked. Saturo was surprised he could hear her through such thick walls.

"I just wanted to talk a little." Saturo answered. Yukiko walked to the glass now. "I think I know who ratted you out."

"Really?"

"Yeah. It could be Takashi, Shiro and Denetsu." Yukiko was completely shocked by that. Two of her own Fracción?

"But why would they do that? How do you know this, anyway?" Saturo sighed.

"Well, Denetsu did came in the lounge the other day without Luna, and told Aurelio and Skullak Luna had gone off. Don't you think that's a little strange? Why would Luna's Fracción tell Aurelio where she is, knowing that Aurelio resents her?" Yukiko bit on her lip. She'd heard from Kanna what had happened to Luna.

"That does seem very odd."

"Do you know who told Ulquiorra about your absence? Shiro." Yukiko froze at that. Her own Fracción? Saturo continued. "But he conveniently left out that there were others with you, and made it seem like you were the only one." Yukiko shook her head.

"I don't understand, why would they do this?"

"Denetsu and Takashi are now the new Primera and Cero." Saturo revealed. "I wasn't sure about it at first, but when I talked to the others and thought about it, it makes perfect sense." Yukiko needed some time to fully take the information in. She considered it, staring at the wall for a few seconds, before looking back at Saturo.

"Where's Amaya?" she eventually asked. It was unusual for Saturo to be away from Amaya. Saturo had a gloomy expression on his face.

"She saw them go through a portal, and she followed them."

"You… this could mean that-"

"-That they've already got her. I know."

* * *

Cruz pulled Mai up from the ground. The girl was covered in dust, having been thrown through a lot of rocks by Cruz. Nonetheless, she was a worthy opponent. In any case, better than that boring redheaded Shinigami. Cruz had forgotten his name already. Mai huffed displeased.

"You're lucky I feel tired today." Cruz raised an eyebrow.

"Sure, whatever you say kid." The white haired menace looked around. Now her thirst for battle had been quenched, she was getting bored again. She saw Chié sitting on a flat rock, looking down on them. Now Luna was gone, they needed a new distraction. "Where's Amaya?" she asked Mai, who shrugged.

"I have no clue. I did see Saturo walking towards the dungeons. Why don't you ask him?" Cruz was satisfied with that answer (sort of), and gestured to Chié to follow. Chié Sonido'd next to her, curious to what Cruz had in mind.

"We're gonna pay Saturo a little visit." Cruz told her. Chié didn't ask about it, and just followed. As they were heading towards the entrance of the building, which was still missing a door, they heard Aurelio and Skullak in an argument. Instantly, their reflexes taking over, they almost dove behind a rock formation and peeked over it. Mai stared at them.

"Ya know, even a blind man would be able to see you-"

"-Shh!" Cruz hissed. They were lucky Aurelio and Skullak were so busy arguing they didn't even notice them sitting there so obviously in plain sight.

"You wanted it too!" Aurelio accused Skullak, who glared.

"I didn't want her dead!" he retorted. Cirucci was beside him, a little concerned, but Ggio was just cheering for Skullak to fight.

"Wait, dead? Is Luna dead?" Cruz said surprised. Chié bit her lip, not knowing the answer to that question and they continued to listen to the argument.

"Don't pretend like you're innocent in this." Aurelio growled. "You're as guilty as I am."

"You tried to kill her! All I wanted was to take away her rank. Those are two entirely different things." Skullak replied frustrated.

"It doesn't matter what you wanted, the only thing what matters is what happened and the fact is, is that you contributed in her death. At least, I hope that bitch is dead. She deserves Hell and nothing-" he was barely able to dodge Skullak's blade. Aurelio snorted, unsheathing his own katana. "Oh, I get it. You want to pretend like you're the white knight and I'm the bad guy. Does it make you sleep better at night, Skullak?" he mocked the man. Skullak narrowed his eyes.

"I think your logic is, that if you can't get her, no one can. You and your huge ego just couldn't accept her rejection. Are you really that selfish?" Aurelio's reiatsu went through the roof. At this point, Cruz and Chié decided to take distance.

"You know nothing!" Aurelio yelled at him, their blades clashing. Reiatsu was thrown all over the place.

"Cirucci, Ggio, back off." Skullak ordered coldly, deflecting Aurelio's attacks.

"She was mine and mine alone!" the Cuatro blasted a crimson Cero and Skullak minimized the damage by shooting his own Cero. "She left me all alone, because of that _human_!" Aurelio shot towards him, rapidly attacking and with such force the others took even more distance from the battle. Skullak could barely keep up. He managed to dodge and counter one attack, cutting Aurelio's chest. The Cuatro took a little distance after that, both Arrancar panting.

"I think understand, now." Skullak eventually said. "We Hollows are always looking for something that can make us whole. She made you feel like you had a soul again, didn't she? When she rejected you, you couldn't take losing your soul for a second time. That's why you want her dead. She tore that piece away from you when she left." Aurelio stared at Skullak for a while, but seeing that understanding look in his eyes just pissed the Cuatro off.

"That's not true!"

"You're lying." There was a long silence, all the two men did was stare at each other, waiting for the other to break and look away.

"Wow. This is really intense." Mai whispered.

"Thank you for ruining the moment." Cruz said with a glare. Suddenly, the presence of three others demanded all of their attention. Just thirty feet away from the battle, Shiro and Denetsu appeared together with Amaya who was being restrained by Denetsu. She was screaming, but wounded so she couldn't do much.

"What the hell are you doing?" Mai yelled. Then, other Arrancar showed up. Roxette, Ulquiorra and a few Fracción Sonido'd outside and witnessed what was happening to Amaya. It looked as if she was going insane.

"Didn't she take her medicine this morning?" Ulquiorra asked coolly to Roxette, who nodded.

"I helped Saturo find it."

"Then why is she screaming like this?"

"Ulquiorra-sama, she tried to kill us earlier. I think she's lost her mind." Denetsu said.

"Is that so?" the former Cuatro said in a dull tone. "Release her." he ordered. Then, several things happened at once. Saturo showed up, a horrified look on his face, Denetsu released Amaya and her reiatsu flared, then she preceded to lunge at Ulquiorra while Saturo screamed at her in vain. Ulquiorra dodged the attack and knocked her out. It had been easy because of her wounds. Amaya fell down on the ground. Chié was the only one to notice her black eyes. That was very strange. Weren't Amaya's eyes usually red?

"See? I told you." Denetsu said.

"Take her to the cell next to Yukiko's." Ulquiorra told Denetsu, who nodded. Saturo wanted to protest, but what could he say? He didn't have any evidence. He followed Denetsu who carried Amaya to the dungeons. Denetsu shot him an annoyed glare, but didn't protest. Ulquiorra looked at Shiro.

"We need someone to take over her rank. Shiro."

"I'd be more than glad to, Ulquiorra-sama." Shiro said with a bow. Chié, Cruz, Roxette and Mai all knew this wasn't good.

"Where's Takashi?" Roxette then asked, noticing one of the Fracción was missing.

"He's probably in the building somewhere, resting." Shiro answered, a little too quick. Roxette frowned slightly. "Where were you guys when she attacked you, anyway? We should've been able to feel it if Amaya suddenly went crazy."

"We managed to incapacitate her before it reached that point. Her reiatsu wasn't that high yet."

"That's strange, considering that it was flaring just now. What exactly-"

"-Roxette." Ulquiorra said in such a tone that made her instantly shut up. "If you are accusing them of something, I would like to hear it now." Roxette blushed.

"I'm not accusing anyone, Ulquiorra-sama." she muttered.

"Very well. I advise everyone to prepare. We're leaving in approximately twenty-four hours. You'll get your exact orders when we leave." With that, he returned to the building. There was still a tension in the atmosphere, mostly because the girls were eyeing Shiro suspiciously and Aurelio and Skullak were now glaring at each other.

Inside the building, Saturo was loyally sitting next to Amaya's cell door, annoying Denetsu with his presence. Luckily, he wasn't the one appointed to guard the two Neo Espada. He looked at Kanna before he left, and imagined it was probably a very boring task. Kaito was playing with a little spider-like Hollow he'd found, Yukiko was silently sleeping in her cell and Amaya was still knocked out. Saturo didn't want to leave to invade anything. He wanted Amaya to wake up so he could hear what had happened.

Moreover, he knew she'd been possessed by Viuda Blanca. But how? He was sure he'd given her the medicine, unless someone had…. Saturo's eyes widened. Of course, they'd switched the medicine! He bit his lip. He had to take out those three Fracción, and he knew others would help him, but he also knew it was going to be incredibly hard.

* * *

The pain wasn't unbearable. It was just very annoying that she could barely move. As she lay there, she soon saw a girl with orange hair and big, dark eyes. She confirmed this girl to be Orihime Inoue. Ichigo stayed with her the whole time, not taking his eyes off her once. Luna found it strange how Orihime didn't even question why Ichigo wanted an Arrancar to be healed. As Luna was being healed by the orange barrier, or whatever the strange thing was, she thought about what had just happened.

Of course she'd expected Aurelio to snap sooner or later. It had been inevitable. That Skullak had been there was just a mere detail. What she didn't expect was the strong urge to protect Ichigo. Had he been any other human, she wouldn't have risked it. She looked at the man. For a mere second, Kazuo's face, his deep green eyes and mischievous smile, flashed in front of her eyes, followed by the image of his body with blood-soaked clothes lying on the ground. She gasped for breath, a wave of fear almost overwhelming her. She couldn't let this happen. Not again.

"Luna?" Ichigo asked concerned. "Are you okay?"

"Just fine." Luna muttered timidly, and looked away. After a few more minutes, Orihime was done healing and Luna got up from the ground. "Thanks." she said to the human girl, who smiled.

"No problem."

"What are you going to do now?" Ichigo asked her. Luna shrugged.

"I guess just wander around. There's not much I can do."

"You could tell us what the Arrancar plan on doing." he suggested.

"I guess so. We did plan on invading both Karakura Town and Soul Society. It was supposed to be within three days, but I'm certain they changed the time since they know I'm here and probably telling you this." Ichigo seemed very troubled by this. Of course, he was working on getting his powers back. If he didn't in time, he would be as helpless at the next invasion as he'd been in the last. Suddenly, Orihime jumped. They both looked at her.

"Ah, sorry! I need to go, I promised Tatsuki to go to the movie together! See you tomorrow!"

"Later." Ichigo said, watching her run off. Is gaze shifted back to Luna. "Would you train with me?" he then asked out of the blue. Luna blinked, surprised by his sudden question.

"Are you certain? I can snap your neck with one finger." she said.

"I'm sure you'll hold back. You don't have a place to stay, do you?" Luna shook her head. Ichigo considered it. "Well, we need to get you a Gigai first though. I would let you stay at Urahara's place, but Renji is already staying there and he would freak out if he saw you. You could-"

"-I'm not a human, Ichigo." Luna interrupted, a little amused. "I can stay wherever I want."

"R-right. But are you sure? It gets pretty cold out here-"

"-Do you really think I would die from hypothermia?" she derided, and he glared.

"I was just trying to be nice."

"Or you're downright stupid."

"Shut up!" Luna chuckled, and Ichigo suddenly felt a little better seeing her laugh. He thought back about what Aurelio said. "Hey, Luna, about Kazuo-" her expression changed in an instant, and he regretted mentioning him.

"I'd rather not talk about that." Luna murmured, staring down at her feet.

"Sorry." he apologized clumsily. _'Why did you bring that up, you idiot? Way to kill the mood.' _Ichigo scolded at himself in his head.

"Shouldn't you be getting home?" the former Primera then asked. Ichigo looked at his watch. It was getting pretty late.

"Yeah. Hey, uh w-would you mind, you know, walking with me?" Why the hell was he stuttering?

"Sure." Luna answered, not noticing his weird behavior. At least he wasn't blushing like before.

* * *

_**Neo Espada Encyclopedia**_

"Today's subject is Roxette and her obsession with children." Ulquiorra said as soon as the lights turned on, Roxette standing next to him. Nel was on her shoulders.

"I'm not obsessed with children!" Roxette protested, but then blushed pink "I-I didn't mean to say it like that." she mumbled when Ulquiorra stared at her.

"You are not obsessed?" he repeated slowly, Roxette getting highly uneasy by his long stare.

"N-no, Ulquiorra-sama."

"Are you certain?"

"Yes, Ulquiorra-sama."

Then Nel felt like bringing her input in the conversation.

"Roxette wants to kiss Ulquiorra-sama!" Roxette turned red and Ulquiorra blinked, for the first time feeling rather uncomfortable.

"WHAT?" Roxette shrieked.

"She wants to kiss, kiss, kiss-"

"-Shut up, Nel! Please, shut up!"

* * *

**Wow, this took me a while to write. Eh, my updating was delayed because of the error thing on fanfiction (I don't know if any of you have noticed, but you couldn't update chapters for a while).**

_**OH, and for those of you not satisfied with this story, my awesome co-writer, Inhuman X, just started a new OC-story (basically about a new generation Shinigami ready to fuck things up, lol) and needs OCs. Just click on his name in the Reviews page of this story and check his story out. Send in your OCs because I demand you to and because he's awesome and because I'm awesome :D**_

**ANYHOOOOW, that is the long-awaited update. Hope I don't disappoint and I hope you enjoyed. Next chapter will be… FILLER! The Neo Espada are going to the Beach. And there will be a beach-volleyball tournament, Arrancar vs Shinigami.**

**REVIEWZ AND STUFF, NAO PLZ. THANKS FOR READING :3**


	10. The Beach: a Filler Chapter

"What is this place?"

"Duh, it's a beach, Dumbo."

Ignoring how just a chapter ago they were in a crisis, the Neo Espada walked up to the beach, suddenly all dressed in white swimsuits and bikinis. This is a filler, so everything's permitted. I could even break the Fourth Wall or give Ulquiorra pink fairy wings, but let's just move on. Grimmjow cringed when seeing the massive amount of water. Both Amaya and Yukiko, having noticed this wince of his, pushed him in the ocean. He yelped, gasping and trying to get out. When he finally managed to do so, he was fuming, glaring so intensely both girls didn't know what else to do but to run.

"Why are we here again?" Cruz asked bored, not caring about neither the sand nor the water. Chié was about to answer her friend, when she spotted a group of others a few feet away.

"Sh-shinigami!" she gasped, and the attention of the whole group turned to where she was pointing. Indeed, they were Shinigami. Cruz smirked widely.

"Great! Time for a battle!" she said, but Skullak stopped her before she could make a move. Her glaring didn't bother him in the least.

"Have you forgotten the reason why we're here?" he asked her. Cruz shrugged.

"Why should I even care?" she snapped, jerking her hand away from his grip.

"Relaxation, of course. If you must seek for battle, do so in another form. Volleyball, for example." he suggested. The Sexta rolled her eyes.

"Fine, whatever." she huffed. "Come on, Chié. We'll make them eat sand!"

"W-what? But I don't want to make anyone eat sand!"

"Oh, stop your whining! It's just volleyball. Making someone eat sand is the worst thing that can happen. Unless… I hit them in the face with the ball!"

"Cruz, for the love of-" the Novena was dragged away. Meanwhile, the Three were discussing what just happened. Takashi sighed, irritated while watching Denetsu picking up a crab he'd spotted in the sand.

"This is a real setback." the leader decided while staring at the red crab. Shiro raised his eyebrows.

"How come?"

"The longer we're here, the longer Aizen is locked up. I don't have time to spare for- Denetsu, put the crab down before you hurt yourself." Takashi ordered the younger man, who snorted.

"It's just a damn crab. It can't- IT HAS MY NOSE!" he screamed when the crab grabbed a hold of his nose. "GET IT OFF!" no one attempted to help him. Takashi was too annoyed and Shiro was too amused.

"Try hitting your face against the wall." the blind warrior suggested.

"Very funny! Seriously, get it off! It hurts like hell!"

"As I was saying, we need to leave while everyone is distracted. This is a perfect opportunity to- Denetsu!" that snarl was probably the closest Takashi would ever get to yelling, since he never did actually yell. Denetsu was pouting like a child now, trying to pry the crab off him. The growls and cursing he emitted disturbed Takashi.

"Fucking crabs- OW!" he screamed when Takashi grabbed the crab and snatched it off him with one pull. This did leave a cut in Denetsu's nose, though the leader didn't really give a rat's ass.

At the same time a few feet away, Amaya, Yukiko and Luna found themselves back in the company of their former comrades. Luna was very frustrated, and started yelling to whatever God was out there, demanding she was sent back. She did not want a confrontation with the other Espada. In fact, all she'd wanted was to spar with Ichigo. Now she was stuck on a damn beach. Yukiko sighed.

"Can't you just enjoy it? It's a day off. No war, no fighting, besides, now is your chance to get back at Aurelio."

"But I don't want-" she stopped herself mid-sentence when she spotted Ichigo on the beach wearing nothing but trunks. Her eyes wandered off to his abs and she smirked.

"Eh, Luna?" Yukiko asked. "Luna, where are you going?" she asked when the older woman walked away. Amaya giggled.

"Leave her."

* * *

"Kanna?"

"Hmm?"

"Shouldn't you be, you know, enjoying the water?" Kaito stared at his twin who was sitting in the sand, just staring at the sea instead of actually swimming like the others. Nel and Roxette seemed to have a lot of fun together, as Roxette was teaching her how to swim. Kanna felt no such desire. She was content just staring at the horizon. Besides, she hated drying her hair after getting wet.

"Why don't you go play with Saturo or something? I thought you two got along." Kaito's left eye started twitching.

"Far from it."

"Why? She looks cute. I thought you even had a crush on her." Kaito ignored for a second that Kanna had actually said 'cute' which almost scared him.

"It's a guy! I mean he's a guy. Or an it. I don't know, maybe both. Besides, me and that transvestite? Please, I'd rather-"

"-WHO ARE YOU CALLING A TRANSVESTITE? I'M A BOY!" Saturo tackled Kaito to the ground. Kanna sighed as the two started fighting, rolling over the sand and cussing at each other. Kanna paid no further attention to them. There had been a thing on her mind for a while now, ever since talking to Yukiko in a cell.

'_Do you like him?'_

'_Maybe I do.'_

Liking someone. She knew that Arrancar were capable of such emotions, but the recent episode with Aurelio and Luna had made her wonder. Was true love really possible? Even amongst creatures like them? Aurelio had gone great lengths to get Luna back in the past, to even get her attention, granted, some attempts had involved malicious acts such as killing off others. Was that love? No, that was an obsession. But if the opposite of love could be reached, which was hatred, then surely love itself was a possibility.

She spotted Aurelio standing in the water knee-high, his hands in the pockets of his trunks. She decided to ask him. Within a flash she was standing next to him. He didn't even flinch.

"What do you want?" he asked without giving her so much as a glance. Amaya and Yukiko nearby looked up for a brief moment, but Kanna didn't notice.

"Did you truly love Luna?" Kanna asked bluntly. Aurelio was surprised by that question. He'd expected something else, like a comment along the lines of 'don't you feel ashamed for what you've done' or 'do you realize that you're a monster'. It would be a surprise to know that he actually didn't feel bad. For one bit. She deserved it for breaking his heart. Aurelio sighed.

"Why do you want to know?" he responded.

"Did you or did you not?" Kanna repeated a little impatiently.

"Yes, I did."

"What's it like?" Aurelio now turned to face her, folding his arms across his muscular chest.

"Why would you want to know?" he asked suspiciously. Kanna shrugged.

"General curiosity. Are you going to answer my question?"

"It's a feeling. There's no way to describe it. Well, perhaps…." Aurelio seemed to ponder something for a moment, before he continued. "She made me forget who I was."

'_Forget?'_ Kanna didn't understand him for one bit. How could he possible forget? He had a damn skull on his shoulder!

"If you'll excuse me." Aurelio left her standing there, confused. Amaya had overheard their conversation, and cheerfully walked over to Kanna. The Tercera didn't notice her until Amaya tapped on her shoulder.

"Black Mariah. What is it?" Kanna asked with a slight frown, having her train of thought interrupted. She always called Amaya by her nickname. Somehow Black Mariah seemed more appropriate than Amaya.

"I couldn't help but hear you asking about love-"

"-Do you know anything about it? Anything useful, I mean?" Amaya chuckled at that.

"I just wanted to tell you that you already know love, silly." Now, Kanna got even more confused.

"What are you talking about? I have never-"

"-Kaito." Amaya said, pointing a finger to her twin who was holding a handkerchief to his bleeding lip while Saturo was glaring at him as he felt the bruise on his shoulder.

"What's with Kaito?" Kanna asked.

"He's your twin, isn't he?"

"Yes, and?"

"How would you feel if he died?"

"I… I would be devastated."

"Do you know why? Because you _love_ him, as a brother. But it's not very far apart." the Segunda pointed out. "Love is, at the core of its existence, caring for someone. Wanting them to be happy, wanting the best for them." Kanna started to understand now. It wasn't the love she was looking for, but it did answer her question. Perhaps there was some hope for Arrancar after all.

"I understand. Thank you." she eventually replied. Amaya smiled.

"Any time."

* * *

"GET BACK HERE!" Grimmjow yelled as he chased Yukiko who'd, once again, enraged him by pulling some typical stunt. In the process he accidentally knocked over Skullak, who hadn't been paying attention seeing as how he'd been gazing at Cirucci sunbathing. He fell in the water and got some in his lungs. When he got out, he couldn't help but cough uncontrollably. Cirucci instantly got up.

"Skullak-sama! Are you okay?" she asked concerned as she helped him back on land, where he lied down on the sand.

"It's… it's j-just… a little… water." He managed to choke out in between the coughing.

A light bulb appeared above his head.

"Skullak-sama?"

"Actually… I feel a little… sick." he lied.

"Oh. Don't worry, I'll take care of you and make you feel better in no time." Cirucci reassured him.

"Ah, this sun really isn't helping." Skullak muttered. Cirucci instantly grabbed a hand fan (god knows where she got that from) and started waving it, sending cool air his way.

"Is this better?"

"Much better, thanks." Skullak sighed contently. He heard arguing behind him (of course it had to be Ggio and Apacci again) but ignored that. After all, what could be better than a lovely woman helping you cool off on a hot day at the beach? Suddenly, a cold gush of water hit him.

"Findor! What do you think you're doing?" Cirucci yelled angrily. Skullak sighed annoyed. He was completely soaked now. Findor blinked.

"Sorry! I was carrying a bucket of water to help Rudobōn with his sand castle, but I tripped. I'm really sorry, Skullak-sama."

"Don't worry about it, it's-"

"-It's unforgivable! He's already sick and you just made it worse!" Cirucci snapped. Findor frowned, looking at his master.

"Well, besides the fact that he's soaked, I don't think he's-" Skullak desperately gestured for him to shut up, and luckily, Findor got the hint. "-oh. _Oh_! Yes, he's definitely sick! I would take good care of him if I were you." Cirucci hugged Skullak tightly, and the Espada wondered if he should die from a nosebleed or from the fact Cirucci was holding him so tightly he couldn't breathe.

"My poor master! I'll make you better in a flash!" she tried to reassure him.

"C-Cirucci… can't… can't…."

"He can't breathe, you idiot." Ggio told her, interrupting his argument with Apacci for a moment.

"Shut up! I think I know what's best for him, so back off."

"I really… can't breathe…." Cirucci let him go, shocked.

"S-sorry!"

"I told you so."

"Shut up, Vega!" Ggio made a pouty face.

"It's not my fault you're hopelessly in l-" Cirucci kicked him in the face, a red blush covering her cheeks.

"I said SHUT UP!" she screamed.

'_Was he going to say what I think he was going to say?' _Skullak flushed slightly just thinking about it, and shook his head. He should stop acting like a little boy. This wasn't the time to get caught up in some sort of romance, even if she looked stunning in that bikini- _'Stop thinking about it!'_ he mentally yelled at himself. But he wasn't the only one with love problems.

* * *

"You're going down, Shinigami!" Cruz yelled with a wide smirk. The Shinigami had agreed to a Volleyball match. Cruz, Chié, Yukiko, Mai and Grimmjow had agreed to playing against Renji, Ikkaku, Rangiku, Shūhei and Nanao (who'd do anything to escape from her Captain, even if it meant playing volleyball). They got into formation, Cruz and Grimmjow were up front and the other three were in the back. In the Shinigami team, Renji and Ikkaku were up front, and the others were in the back.

"Get ready to taste some sand." Renji said, throwing the ball at Shūhei who was ready for service.

"Didn't think so, pineapple head." Mai snorted. "Did you forget how easily me and Cruz crushed you in our last battle?" Renji narrowed his eyes, glowering intensely at her.

"Looks like they didn't forget." Cruz said amused. Shūhei made the service, and it was an intense play. Both teams were determined to win. The Shinigami wanted revenge and the Arrancar just loved to win. Mai got the ball over the net, but then Shūhei saw an opportunity to smash, and did. The ball came towards Chié with such speed she got hit and fell backwards in the sand.

"Chié, are you okay?" Yukiko asked concerned.

"A-ah! Sorry!" Shūhei called. "I didn't mean to do that." Renji got pissed.

"Don't apologize, idiot! They deserve it!"

"Don't be such a dick all the time. This is supposed to be a friendly match." Shūhei replied annoyed and looked at Chié who slowly got up. "Are you alright?" she stared up at him, a little unsure what to say. He seemed a lot friendlier than most other Shinigami. Or at least, his attitude towards them was friendlier. It caught her off guard.

"Y-yeah. It didn't hurt, I was just surprised by it." Chié answered, trying to get the sand out of her hair.

'_She's… pretty cute.' _Shūhei shook his head. _'Whatever. Stop thinking strange thoughts.'_ he told himself, and they got back into formation. The game restarted and they kept going until they had lost count of the score. Everyone was sweating and panting.

"Che, is this all you Shinigami got? Pathetic." Grimmjow huffed.

"Really? Because you seem to be panting pretty heavily there." Ikkaku told him.

"And you're sweating a river." Mai backed Grimmjow up.

"I'm gonna take a break." Chié decided, and left the field. Amaya decided to take her place, getting bored. Shūhei and Rangiku were also a little tired and also took a break, being replaced by Rukia and Kira. Chié took a quick dive in the water and felt refreshed when she got out. But it seemed her team was doing fine on its own so she stayed out of it.

"Hey." Chié turned around and saw Shūhei a few feet away. He still seemed cautious. It was only natural, they were enemies after all. "Captain Hitsugaya told me one of yours saved him." Chié nodded.

"That was Yukiko. She's supposed to be locked up in her cell right now."

"Also, I heard your Primera saved Kurosaki Ichigo."

"That was Luna. She's supposed to be… well, dead. But as you can see, she's not. Inoue Orihime probably healed her." Shūhei put his hands in the pockets of his trunks.

"You Neo Espada are completely different from the old ones." he remarked, and Chié chuckled.

"I have a theory about that."

"Really? Let me hear it." Chié blinked, not having expected that response.

"Oh. Uhm… well, I don't know if you know, but Arrancar can actually fall in love."

"Seriously?" Shūhei said, genuinely surprised. Chié frowned slightly.

"Of course. We're not all monsters. We're just… I don't know, broken souls would be the appropriate word. Our soul doesn't simply disappear when we turn Hollow. It turns into our mask. Of course, the downside of that is, the more we evolve, the more the mask disappears, and the more our soul disappears. Which means that any Arrancar is already doomed to suffer for eternity after their death."

"That's… that does sound horrible."

"I never knew you Shinigami cared." Chié remarked softly, staring at the water. It was so clear she could see through it. She even saw some fish swimming by.

"I do care. I just never understood it until now, that's all. Thank you for explaining it to me." Shūhei said genuinely. Chié stared at him in complete fluster when hearing that.

"You're the oddest Shinigami I've ever seen." he smirked.

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"I suppose…."

"Shūhei!" Rangiku walked up to him, and when seeing Chié, narrowed her eyes. Of course she remembered how Chié had caught her the last time they'd met. Apparently she still held a grudge against her.

"Rangiku-san. What's wrong?" Shūhei asked her attentively.

"What are you doing, talking to the Arrancar? You know they can't be trusted." she said, obviously frustrated.

"But I was just-"

"-It's okay. I don't want to cause any problems. I'll just leave." Chié interrupted him, feeling rather uncomfortable with the glare Rangiku was giving her. Not that Chié blamed her. She would've been pissed too if she'd been in Rangiku's shoes. It almost seemed like Shūhei wanted to say something else, but he didn't, probably because Rangiku was holding onto his arm. Chié left quickly, heading back to the Volleyball match to watch how it was going. Yet, for some reason, she couldn't get Shūhei out of her head.

'_Indeed, you are a very odd Shinigami, Shūhei Hisagi.'_

* * *

"Ha! In your dreams!" Mai yelled at Rukia. "We won!"

"No you didn't! Not one of you kept score, but we did!"

"And we're supposed to believe you just like that?" Rukia snorted.

"Well, seeing as how you have the capacity of three year old children-"

"-You bitch, what did you say?" Mai growled as she took a step towards her. Someone stopped her, grabbing her arm. "G-Grimmjow." Mai stuttered.

"Let it go. Don't waste your time on weaklings." he told her indifferent to Rukia's anger. The short Shinigami glowered.

"Weaklings?" she repeated.

"Mai nearly killed you during your first fight. You're lucky to still be alive, Shinigami. If it had been me, I would've punched another hole in you." Rukia paled a little after hearing that. She clearly remembered how Grimmjow had impaled her guts last time. Renji calmed Rukia down as the Volleyball match was finally over. Mai sat down on the sand, sighing. Even though she was supposed to relax, she really couldn't with all those Shinigami around. It was her instincts.

'_Maybe I should take a nap.'_

"You sure like to fight." Mai looked up at Grimmjow.

"You don't?"

"I didn't say anything about that."

"Well, do you consider it a good thing?"

"Maybe." Mai frowned as she was unable to get a straight answer out of him.

"I don't like to fight, by the way. It's just that I can't stand her." she muttered, glancing at Rukia. She still acted so conceited while Mai had beat the crap out of her just a few days ago. Talk about an ego.

"Then that's one thing we agree on. Too bad the author won't let us kill her." Mai sighed annoyed.

"You're not supposed to break the Fourth Wall, you idiot."

"It's a filler chapter, who cares?" Grimmjow sat down beside her. For the most part, they didn't talk at all but just watched how some of the Arrancar picked a fight with the Shinigami or argue amongst themselves.

It was sufficient to say that Mai was finally able to relax now.

* * *

"A-ah! Ulquiorra-sama! Your face!" Roxette stared in horror. Ulquiorra's cheeks were red. Red! Of all colors, it was red! Ulquiorra nonchalantly touched his cheek, and concluded that he shouldn't do it again as it hurt his skin.

"It seems I've been burned." he said dryly, but Roxette was almost in a panic.

"I can fix this, I can fix this… erm… okay, wait, make-up!" she called out, randomly grabbing a make-up box out of freaking nowhere. Not that it matters, it's a filler chapter so I could make pigs fly, but let's not defy the laws of nature yet. Back to the story, Roxette made Ulquiorra sit down on a random chair and opened the make-up box. It was, in fact, her fault that Ulquiorra got burned by the sun. She'd forgotten to given him sunscreen, while it had been her job to give every Espada a bottle. Ulquiorra, out of all people.

'_I'm hopeless.' _Roxette sighed as she carefully applied the make-up to Ulquiorra's face. He didn't even flinch. He just kept staring at her with those big green eyes and she was starting to get very uncomfortable. When she was finally finished, she was relieved and there was no trace left of the redness on Ulquiorra's face.

Then Findor came along with a bucket of water, tripped and the water got on the former Cuatro's face, removing the not-water-proof make-up.

"Findor!" Roxette shrieked.

"Sorry! Why does this always keep happening to me? U-Ulquiorra-sama… your face is… ah, there's nothing wrong with your face, forget I said anything, goodbye!" Findor almost made a run for it when seeing the glare Ulquiorra was giving her (though it was really hard to distinct between his normal face and his glaring face).

"I'll try again! Just sit still, I'll-" Ulquiorra raised his hand and Roxette fell silent.

"It doesn't bother me. But I appreciate your effort." He said.

'_Did he just thank me?' _Roxette blinked twice, as if she couldn't believe what she'd just heard. Ulquiorra noticed she was sweating. He offered her his own bottle of water.

"Y-you don't have to do that, I'm fine, really."

"You look dehydrated."

"It's nothing, I-"

"-Take it." Ulquiorra insisted, and even then he still managed to look indifferent. Roxette blushed, taking the bottle gratefully.

"Thank you." she said softly, wanting to look at him but feeling embarrassed.

"ROXETTE LOVES ULQUIORRA-SAMA!"

"NEL!"

* * *

"There we are again." Yukiko said as she walked up to Toshiro, who was finally alone so she could speak to him without Shinigami breathing down her neck. They were in a small hut where it was full of ice. Yukiko guessed he didn't like the heat very much. The Captain looked at her, first startled, and then sighed, very relieved.

"I thought they'd-"

"-Killed me? They wouldn't do that. I am the Cero Espada, after all." This left Toshiro flabbergasted. Yukiko chuckled. "I never did tell you my rank, did I?"

"R-right. So they just locked you up. Understandable." Toshiro said as he sat down on a chair. "You also never told me why you helped me escape in the first place." Yukiko blushed slightly at that.

"I really can't answer that." she responded.

"Why not?"

"Just because, stop being so nosy." Toshiro sighed.

"Fine, if you really don't want to tell me, I guess it can't be helped." Yukiko blinked.

"You're just going to give up, like that?" she said a little disappointed, since (strangely enough) part of her really wanted to blurt out that she had a crush on him. Toshiro shrugged.

"If you don't want to tell me, what's the point of forcing it out of you? That would just make you angry at me. I-I mean… not like I care if you're angry with me…." That last part came out rather uneasily and he suddenly seemed a little uncomfortable. Yukiko smiled.

"So you do care! That's just so cute." Toshiro got red.

"I do not care for one bit! Stop imagining things." he snapped at her, a little too defensive. Yukiko chuckled.

"Just admit you like me."

"I do not!"

"You do _too_." she pestered him. Toshiro folded his arms.

"Shaddap." he grumbled. Yukiko pinched in his cheek.

"Aren't you just a cute little Shinigami midget! Yes you are! Oh yes you are!"

"I'M NOT A BABY!"

"Ahw, so cute I think I'm gonna cry-"

"-SHUT UP!"

* * *

"Luna! I thought… we were… what the hell just happened?" Ichigo asked the former Primera when she walked up to him, shamelessly looking at him from head to toe. Since Ichigo was pretty dense when it came to that kind of stuff, he didn't notice.

"We were walking towards Urahara's Shop to spar and then, poof, we got on the beach. You should be happy. Not many people get to see me in a bikini. Actually, no one, until today." Luna teased him. He frowned, successfully holding back a blush.

"Why do you always have to be like that?"

"Because it's fun, Kuku."

"What did you just call me?"

"Kuku. From your last name, Kurosaki. I thought it would be a cute nickname for you. Mai came up with it. She thought Berry would be too generic. She's really a genius when it comes to this stuff." Luna said with a wide smirk. Ichigo wanted to smack her.

"Fine! Then I'll call you Lulu." Instead of getting pissed, which was Ichigo's intention, she smiled.

"Kuku and Lulu! Great, it rhymes too!"

"Ugh, I hate you." he sighed, until he noticed how happy she was. He hadn't seen her like this ever since that incident with Aurelio. She'd been with them for a week, sparring with Ichigo every day, but she hadn't been this… radiant. It suited her. He was glad she was finally happy.

"So, what do you want to do?" Luna asked him. "We could join the Volleyball match and you could watch me kick your ass-"

"-Not happening." Luna watched him get down on the sand, relaxing in the sun. She raised one eyebrow.

"So instead you're going to sunbathe like a little girl?"

"Shit! I totally forgot." Ichigo said, sitting up straight. "Oi, Ishida!" he yelled at the Quincy who was a few feet away, building a sandcastle with Orihime. "Do you have any sunscreen?" he tossed Ichigo the lotion. Luna wanted to facepalm. He was seriously going to sunbathe instead of swimming or something else you could only do at the beach. She watched Ichigo apply the lotion to his skin when she realized something.

"Turn on your stomach." she ordered.

"What? Why?" Luna rolled her eyes and forcibly almost shoved his face in the sand as she turned him around. She grabbed the bottle of sunscreen from his hand and applied it to his back. "Oh." Ichigo muttered, glad she couldn't see his reddened face.

"You should be grateful. I could've just let you get burned. That would be more fun now I think about it."

"Bitch."

"What? I'm helping you, aren't I?"

"You could be less of a complete- OW! Get your damn nails out my back!" Ichigo yelled when she buried her nails right beneath his neck. It wasn't bleeding, that would mess up the sunscreen she'd just covered him with.

"Oops, did I make you go ow?" Luna said with a sly smile. She kissed the place where she'd 'hurt' him. "All better now, Kuku?" Ichigo pushed her off him, his head as red as a tomato.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he yelled out, pointing at her in shock. Luna played the innocent girl.

"I'm sorry." she said, trying to play naïve and pulling it off pretty well. Ichigo glared at her, toughing the spot where he'd felt her lips.

"You're the devil."

"But I only wanted to make you feel better." she said with a pout.

"Oi, Kurosaki! Don't go around upsetting girls! What kind of man are you?" Ishida commented.

"That was not nice of you, Kurosaki-kun." Orihime told him.

"WHAT? But s-she… damn you!" Luna laughed her ass off, almost rolling over the sand as Ichigo was accused of being the bad guy. Ichigo's friends had accepted her surprisingly fast. They were the most kindest people Luna had ever known. "It's her fault! She kissed me!"

"S-she kissed you?"

"Hey, Inoue-san, are you alright? You look a little pale…."

"_You can't just go around kissing people, ya know. Unless it's me, of course." _Luna froze on the spot. She sat up straight, and looked around, her heart racing.

'_Kazuo?' _For a second there, she'd thought she'd heard his voice. She shook her head. _'Don't be an idiot. He's dead, get over it.' _

The rest of that day, Luna's smile didn't return. Ichigo wanted to ask her the reason behind it, but decided to leave her alone. Luna pondered about it for a long time. Kazuo shouldn't be alive. She shouldn't be able to hear his voice. It had to be her mind playing tricks on her.

Yet, why did she get the nasty feeling someone was watching her?

* * *

**Neo Espada Encyclopedia**

Ulquiorra, Grimmjow, and well damn, the whole cast of Neo Espada were standing there with a human girl amidst them.

"Now, the author Skiltz would like to apologize for her absence and neglect of this story." Ulquiorra said, indifferent as always. The girl with the dark hair and brown eyes sighed.

"How did I get myself into this mess?" Grimmjow grabbed her head and forced her to bow.

"Apologize, dammit! And why do I rarely appear in this story?" he complained.

"I'm sorry!" Skiltz cried.

"How come Nel always ruins my moments?" Roxette complained.

"What the hell is up with Kazuo's voice in my head? Do you want me to go crazy?" Luna yelled at her.

"I demand you kill her off!" Aurelio said angrily, pointing at Luna.

"How come I don't get an awesome back-story? All I ever do is fighting!" Cruz growled. "I need more emotional depth!"

"What about me? Why did I get such a small scene with Toshiro?" Yukiko whined.

"What's up with the hints? Are you planning on giving me hope and then crushing it? How cruel of you." Skullak said, folding his arms across his chest.

"Maybe we shouldn't go so hard on her…." Chié mumbled.

"WHY IS STARRK DEAD?" Amaya cried. Everyone stared at her.

"That was canon." Skiltz answered dryly. Amaya pouted.

"I don't see why you're complaining. I think everything is going just fine." Takashi said.

"Yeah, so far, this story is pretty awesome." Denetsu agreed.

"That's because you're the bad guys, therefore, your opinion is invalid." Kanna snapped impatiently.

"I'M SORRY!" Skiltz interrupted the arguing. "Can I please go now?"

"NO! Not until you fix this mess!"

"Aw, goddammit!"

* * *

**There it is. **

**The Neo Espada Encyclopedia pretty much speaks for itself.**

**Aaah, I think I'm in love with this chapter! It certainly was fun writing...**

**NEXT CHAPTER: It's time for war! The Espada & Fracción get their orders and the first part of the Madness-chapters begin! There will be three Madness chapters, full with fights and gory blood and limbs being chopped off and all that good stuff. **

**REVUWZ EVERY1! **


	11. Madness In Karakura Town

"'_But I don't want to go among mad people,' Alice remarked.__  
__'Oh, you can't help that,' said the Cat. 'We're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad.'__  
__'How do you know I'm mad?' said Alice.__  
__'You must be,' said the Cat. 'or you wouldn't have come here.'__"_

_~Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland_

Was it fate?

'_Perhaps_,' Skullak thought when Ulquiorra appointed him to lead the others. He did have experience as a leader, after all. Even if he seemed calm and collected on the outside, he was nervous from the inside. He knew that if the Fracción didn't attract enough attention by attacking Karakura Town, all of them could be dead. There were in total thirteen Captains, one Captain-Commander. Three positions were vacant at the moment, and if they sent one Captain to Karakura Town, in total, they would have to face nine Captains. However, they had to remember that one Captain wasn't likely to fight, that would be Captain Unohana.

'_Eight Captains versus… versus nine Neo Espada.' _Skullak was aware that Aurelio had volunteered to go to Karakura Town. He'd protested, of course. Both of them knew Aurelio was going to look for Luna and try to kill her. However, stating concern for a traitor would land him in prison as well, so he kept his mouth shut, though shooting icy glares towards Aurelio, who was sitting right across the table with a sly smile that didn't promise any good. Grimmjow had volunteered to 'guard' the castle. Ulquiorra had decided to stay as well. Everyone knew the former Sexta would attempt to free Amaya and Yukiko.

"Pick your targets." Ulquiorra said when they neared the end of the meeting. "It will be easier to fight if you know who your target is beforehand. We have the advantage that they don't know you."

"Soifon." Skullak instantly stated, remembering how the Captain had almost killed Ggio.

"Then I want… who's the strongest of the bunch?" Cruz asked, staring at the pictures of the Captains on the wall as she put her feet on the table. "Maybe that dog…. No, wait! I'll fight the pirate!" she declared with a grin.

"The… what now?"

"That is Captain Zaraki, the one with the strongest spiritual pressure." Ulquiorra answered Roxette's question.

"I see. Hmm. Could I fight someone else, instead of a Captain?" she then asked. "I-I mean… I'd promised to continue our fight last time. What was his name again? I think Madarame Ikkaku."

"Fight whomever you wish." Ulquiorra said dismissively. Cruz glared.

"What the fuck? When I wanted to fight The Captain-Commander you turned me down!"

"Don't be a fool. You're not even strong enough to get near him."

"Why you-"

"-Cruz! Sit your ass down." Grimmjow snapped.

"I'll do whatever the hell, old guy!"

"Old guy? Fuck you, I'm the shit and you know it!"

"Yeah, very shitty indeed-" while they continued to argue, the others picked their opponents.

"I'll go for the flower guy." Kanna muttered bored.

"Which one? The alcoholic or the bishounen?" Mai responded.

"Eh… alcoholics are more fun in general."

"Then I'll take the bishounen." Mai decided quickly. "Chié, you might want to pick the sick one." she advised the Novena, who agreed.

"I'm not that good in battle anyway."

While they were discussing their targets, the three former Fracción were silent. Takashi shot glances at his two friends, and they both nodded. Their plan had already been drawn out, disregarding whatever Ulquiorra had had in mind.

As they were listening to the discussion and talking, in Karakura Town, the Fracción had already arrived. Which meant that in exactly one hour, the madness would begin.

* * *

She wondered why she didn't leave. She wondered, what it was that kept her tied to this place. Was it his memory? Was it the fact that he was buried here? It had to be. Even in death, he remained with her. Sometimes, it drove her to the edge of insanity. She could hear his voice, catch a glimpse of him in the reflection of a window or mirror, even smell his scent. Yet, there was something else. If she didn't leave, _couldn't _leave, why did she had to stay with the very people that saw her as a monster?

That morning, Ichigo had tried to persuade her to train with him. She'd bluntly refused. He wasn't ready to handle someone from her caliber.

"The fight would've been over in less than ten seconds," she'd told him "so keep training. You're not ready yet."

He'd walked off with a sour expression on his face, clearly not happy with the rejection. His friends, well, the closest of his friends, did act civil with her. Inoue was always very kind to her, which made Luna think she had a mental illness. Ishida and Chad were pretty much neutral. The Shinigami were the real problem. They didn't trust her for one bit: not that she blamed them. She was a monster, after all. She remembered all the humans she'd killed. Every last face. But somehow, she couldn't bring herself to care.

It was a Hollow thing, that. In the end, all humans were nothing but prey. She could sense it, still. The bloodlust, lingering in her mind. Every time when feeling even a speck of reiatsu from a human who happened to walk past her, she had to concentrate on something else. Now, more than ever, she was hungry. Hungry for souls, but also, hungry for battle. That hunger, even if it sickened her to her very core, would soon be sated.

"Alec-san!" Luna was sitting on the rooftop of a small candy shop. She had a nice view on the beach and watched cars rush by as the sun was slowly beginning to set. It had been the place where she'd also first met Kazuo, after all. The strong sense of nostalgia was like a drug.

"What is it?" the former Primera responded to the girl's cries rather apathetically. She did not care for her fear nor did she care for being the hero in this tale. It was too much work.

"We need your help! The town-" a loud explosion just less than a mile away interrupted her, but the Arrancar already knew what it was Inoue was trying to tell her.

"I know we're being attacked, Inoue." Luna said, almost in a dismissive manner. Of course, she had the right to do so. These were only Fracción, mere decoy for the Shinigami. They weren't worth her time. "I am waiting for someone. I suggest you go help Ichigo. I'll be fine." Inoue hesitated. She took a step back when Luna suddenly jumped off the roof and landed right next to her, without even making a sound.

"But Alec-san, are you sure you-"

"-Go, Inoue. He's getting closer."

"Alright. Stay safe!" Inoue eventually said and ran away, towards the battle in the center of Karakura Town. Meanwhile, Luna waited. He was getting closer gradually. Probably walking. Suddenly, a new presence alerted her. It was a very strange thing. It felt like a little flame of reiatsu, uncontrolled, but still small. When Luna looked to her right, she spotted a small boy, not older than eight years. He had short, straight blond hair with a parting in the middle and light blue eyes. He was the little flame, extraordinarily strong for a mere boy. An adult human couldn't even gather that much reiatsu, but this child did.

"Y-you're…." he was frightened. It seemed he was aware of what she was.

"I am. Do you know exactly what?" Luna asked curiously, after confirming his fears.

"M-my father told me about you. Y-y-you're… you're a Hollow. But you look human." the Arrancar slightly tilted her head.

'Your father told you this?" she asked and he nodded. "Is your father a Shinigami?"

"He used to be."

"What is your name?"

"Kazuo Fukuda." Luna froze for a mere second. Kazuo. She met him on the exact same place, in front of the candy shop.

Was it fate?

'_Perhaps….'_

* * *

"Oi, pay attention, Cirucci!" Ggio barked at his comrade when he noticed her attention was wandering off as several unseated Shinigami tried to attack them. Ggio dodged so easily it was beginning to bore him, and Cirucci too, apparently. It was obvious she was worrying over Skullak.

"Just mind yourself." Cirucci snapped, cutting down another Shinigami after having blocked the attack with her bare hand. "Ch, pathetic! Do they really think these weaklings can stop us?" A sudden arrow made a shallow cut in her left arm. She instantly recognized the reiatsu. "You!"

Ishida merely smiled. Cirucci clenched her fists. That bastard Quincy had defeated her last time, but she would see to it he wouldn't this time. She would win the battle and then Skullak would be proud of her! Ggio witnessed her reiatsu flaring up and decided to concentrate on his own enemies, though they weren't that hard to beat at all.

"Nice to see you again eh… my apologies, I forgot your name. Was it something along the lines of_…_ Circle Sandwich?"

"NO IT WAS NOT!" Cirucci yelled at him furiously while Ggio nearly dropped his sword as he was laughing his guts out. "STOP LAUGHING!"

"My bad." Ishida apologized not-so-sincerely.

"Cirucci Sanderwicci! I'll see to it you won't forget it this time, Quincy." she hissed.

"Talk is cheap, Arrancar."

While their battle began, the other Fracción had no trouble battling most other Shinigami, seeing as how some lieutenants had already returned to Soul Society and only a Captain was left. But the humans proved to be a real problem. Kaito faced a huge man who didn't seemed to like talking much. Saturo was watching him from the sidelines, not bothering even as to lift a finger, which was frustrating.

"Ah, on your right!" Saturo yelled when Chad rushed towards him. Kaito got distracted and punched right through a building. He Sonido'd out of the rubble, strangely enough completely unharmed, glaring at Saturo.

"What is your problem? If you're not going to fight, shut up!"

"Tsk tsk, I was just trying to help. Oh, behind you!"

"DAMMIT SATURO!"

"El Directo!"

"UAGH!"

At the same time Apacci was out of an opponent. She looked around the rubble of the town. They sure had done a good job at wrecking the place. She could faintly hear some humans moaning in pain, but most of it was overlapped by the screaming and praying. She then spotted a speck of orange amidst the destruction. A girl with long, orange hair and dark eyes. She was with a man with red hair and tattoos covering his face and probably also the rest of his body. Apacci smirked and Sonido'd in front of them, blocking their path.

"Where do you think you're going?" she said. The Shinigami and the girl seemed surprised. Naturally, the girl took a few steps back and the man held his Zanpakutō ready. "Humph, the arrogance. I'll make short work of you!"

She didn't have to win. All she had to do was keep them busy.

"Inoue, go look for Kurosaki. Make sure he stays out of the fight." the redhead told his friend, who nodded and wanted to make a run for it. This pissed Apacci off.

"Hey, no running away-" when she was about to chase her, the Shinigami stopped her by expanding his blade and using it like a whip to keep her back. "Heh, that's an interesting blade you got there." The Shinigami grinned.

"Too bad you won't last long enough to see the rest of it!" he lunged, but Apacci dodged by jumping up in the sky. This guy really started to get on her nerves.

"You mean you won't last long enough to show me! _Cero!_" She used the dust the blast created to dive right towards him. She managed to knee him right in the face and he flew back in the rubble in one of the collapsed buildings. However, he recovered before Apacci could land another hit on him. He Shunpo'd out of the dust and the rubble. Everything seemed to be a blur right about now. Humans were running around, corpses lay spread across the street and despair was everywhere.

Despite that, they had to stay focused. Inoue knew this. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her. She had to find Ichigo, before it was too late. She feared it was, but she refused to give up.

* * *

"Kazuo, is it?" Luna stared at the young boy with curiosty. He seemed to be frightened, he seemed to understand what she was.

"Y-yes." he answered hesitantly. He gazed up at her, almost in complete awe, apparently forgetting how dangerous she was. Somehow, he had a vague resemblance to the Kazuo she'd once known. He had that exact same parting in his messy hair, making it seem semi-combed. The way he stood with his shoulders straight and his head held high, it was exactly like him. He was scared inside, yet appeared fearless.

"You can call me Luna. What are you doing here alone? Where are your parents?" she asked him kindly. Kazuo blinked, a little puzzled as to her gentle attitude.

"Father told me to go buy some bread. Then I… you were standing here, and I saw you…." he started to get nervous again. "W-what are you going to do to me?" he almost whimpered.

"Why should I do anything with you?" Luna questioned him. Did he know that much about Hollows already? She watched his eyes glance at her Hollow hole and watched him, almost completely fascinated.

"You're a Hollow! Father told me Hollows eat humans, especially those with reiatsu like me!" he blurted out. Luna stood unmoved for a few seconds. So he did know, but he only knew what the biased father told him. Of course, most Shinigami disregarded the fact that Hollows had once been humans, tormented souls.

"It's true that I've devoured humans in the past. But it wasn't something I could control. It's like an instinct. When you're hungry, you search for food, don't you?" she paused, and continued when Kazuo slowly nodded. "Do you like meat?"

"Yes." Kazuo answered hesitantly.

"You don't think about how the meat used to be a part of a living creature when you eat, do you? An animal that used to look around and see the world, an animal that could feel pain, all that goes unnoticed. All you can think about is filling your empty stomach."

"That's… I never thought about it that way." Kazuo mumbled. For a child his age, he was a bright boy and understood what Luna meant with those words. She smiled faintly.

"Devouring souls is for Hollows the same as for hungry humans. We need to fill an emptiness within us. However, unlike humans, we can't. We can never reclaim what we've lost. I realize I've murdered countless people. But, do know, I never wanted to be like this. It was never my decision to make."

"I think I understand, now." Kazuo said, and looked up at her. "So you're not going to… uhm… eat me?" Luna shook her head. "Then… then could you take me back home, please?" Luna walked over to him, and kneeled down.

"Climb on my back." she told him, and he did what he was told. Luna stood up straight when he was safely on her back. "Where do you live?" she asked.

"Uhm… just across the bridge. If you could bring me there, I could go home myself." Kazuo muttered.

"Alright, hold on tight. Maybe it's better if you close your eyes."

"Okay." Luna glanced at him, and when she saw he had his eyes closed, she used Sonido to get there quickly. Within a second, she was across the bridge.

"Open your eyes." She let Kazuo off her back, and watched him gasp. He seemed flabbergasted.

"That was so fast!" he whispered, looking around as if to make sure it wasn't a dream. Luna smiled amused. Suddenly, she felt a huge amount of reiatsu skyrocketing. It was Ichigo's. He was... he was with Aurelio.

"I need to go. Take care of yourself, Kazuo." Luna told the young boy, who nodded.

"I will. Thank you, Luna."

'_This kid,' _Luna thought as she Sonido'd again, towards the ongoing battle _'is really something else.'_

* * *

"Kurosaki. I wondered when we'd see each other again." Aurelio had a satisfied smile on his face. He could finish what he started. Ichigo glared daggers at him, and Aurelio enjoyed every second of it. They both knew the former Shinigami stood no chance. Even if he'd regained part of his powers, it wasn't nearly enough to beat the Cuatro.

"I won't forgive you, Aurelio." Ichigo said determinedly, having faith in his Fullbring. The Espada laughed amused.

"When did I ask for your forgiveness?"

"You will when I get you on your knees!" Ichigo shot towards him,_ 'He has commendable speed,'_ Aurelio thought. But it wasn't enough to catch the Espada by surprise. Aurelio dodged easily, being very flexible, made a spin and landed a kick against his jaw, sending him flying back. Ichigo recovered by landing on his feet against the wall horizontally, and used it to shoot right back towards Aurelio who was now up in the air.

He tried to match Aurelio's speed, but it was of no use. The Espada dodged most of his attacks. Ichigo kept an eye out for an opening. He made a feint to the left, and saw that Aurelio had let his left side open. He smirked and went for it. But the Cuatro expected him to. Aurelio caught his blade, and threw him down towards the ground. His Hierro was strong enough to grab Ichigo's blade without being cut.

'_That's gonna be a problem,' _Ichigo thought as he met with the ground, sending rocks flying everywhere and creating even more dust. Ichigo saw Aurelio's shining blade right in time to roll to the side and avoid getting pierced through his head. Aurelio smirked, pulling his blade back from the earth and attempting to cut Ichigo in half, who blocked with his own blade.

"Well, isn't this ironic? I thought you were going to bring _me_ on my knees, not the other way around." Aurelio noted as Ichigo was on his knees, using all his power to push Aurelio's blade back. Their blades clashed time and time again, and Ichigo dived to the right, avoiding being cut and quickly stood up. Aurelio was nowhere to be found. "Above you." Ichigo looked up. "_Cero!_"

'_Shit!' _

A blast of orange devoured the earth around him. When it was over, he had several burns on his arms had chest. His own reiatsu had minimized the damage, but it was still a lot. He was bleeding profusely.

"It is remarkable. You've grown frighteningly fast in these past few days. I'm sure that if I gave you another week or three, you could kill me easily. However, it won't come that far."

"That's right." The two combatants looked to the left.

"Tōshirō!" Ichigo said surprised. The Captain seemed fully recovered. He walked towards them boldly.

"It won't come to that, since your life ends here and now." Aurelio smiled, a condescending tone to his voice when he responded.

"Is that so, little Captain? Are you the one who will put an end to all of this?"

"No. I will." The two now looked up and saw Luna standing on top of a nearby building. She looked down at Aurelio, no expression could be read from her face. Aurelio was distracted, this gave Hitsugaya the opportunity to Shunpo next to Ichigo, grab his arm and Shunpo again, taking him out of immediate danger. Aurelio glared at him, but then focused on Luna, who Sonido'd just a few feet away from him.

"So it has come to this." he muttered.

"You wanted this to happen." Luna responded. Aurelio narrowed his eyes, preparing his blade. "Resurrección already?"

"I'm no fool. I have to finish you off quickly, before you bring out Diablo." Luna sighed.

"Aurelio… ignorant as ever." she said as she unsheathed her sword. "What makes you think I would even need my Resurrección to beat you? Besides, This entire town would be destroyed only by releasing it." Aurelio gritted his teeth.

"You'll regret your arrogance." he hissed, and planted the blade of his sword in the ground. "_Burn down to ashes_**, Fénix**!"

Both Hitsugaya and Ichigo were blinded by a red light for a few seconds. When it dimmed down, Aurelio looked completely different. His hair was much longer and wilder, his eyes were glowing crimson and he had two wings sticking out of his back. He had yellow feathers in his hair and a formfitting white suit with a deep V-neck. His hands had turned into large, long claws, his sword was attached to his right claw. Luna didn't seem worried, but Ichigo couldn't help but be afraid for her.

"Let's go." Luna shot towards him, faster than Ichigo could follow. He could only see blurs of movement, he couldn't see who was winning or what was happening. Suddenly Luna jumped back and was followed by three red bullets made out of energy which Aurelio had shot. She used Sonido to disappear, but it didn't look like a Sonido at all. It was more like she was there, and then she was gone in less than a second.

She shot up in the air. Aurelio followed her. Once again, Ichigo only saw a blur. Once, he would've kept up with that speed, but right now he couldn't even see them move. Luna dodged his blade skillfully. The way she moved was almost like a dance, so smoothly and without any sound. Ichigo watched her in awe as she spun around and delivered a roundhouse kick against Aurelio's chest.

"She's the Primera for a reason." Hitsugaya said, and Ichigo looked up at him.

"What do you mean?" he asked, while up in the air, the back of Luna's hand met Aurelio's fist.

"You seem worried. Don't be. This will be over soon. It's up to her to decide when it will end." Ichigo looked back up to Luna and wondered why he hadn't realized her strength before. He watched her grab Aurelio's wrist and knee him in the gut. Suddenly, his wings spread and a burst of reiatsu threw her right into the ground. Luna lay there, staring up at him with a small grin. She slowly got up.

"Nice trick. When did you learn that?" she asked amused. Aurelio was now surrounded by a wind, making him untouchable. He smirked back.

"A while ago. Don't think that I've stayed the same all that time, Luna."

"Vice versa." Aurelio was stunned when she appeared right behind him, but didn't seem panicked. His wind shield threw her back again, but Luna kept her balance and stayed in the air. She frowned slightly, and tried again. She was thrown back, this time Aurelio managed to cut her deep in her right shoulder. When she was thrown back for the third time, she halted. "I thought so." she muttered to herself.

"So you've realized it's futile?" Luna didn't answer him. She charged a white Cero in the palm of her hand. Aurelio started laughing at the attempt to break his shield. "I suppose you don't know how this technique works. Let me explain: this isn't just a shield. The wind will throw anything back, including reiatsu." Luna kept charging. "Stubborn as always." Aurelio said with a sigh. The Cero grew larger and larger, and when it reached the right level, Luna fired it off.

For a second, both Ichigo and Hitsugaya saw nothing but whiteness. Luna immediately took her chance when the whiteness had faded away. She knew Aurelio had relocated himself. She appeared right in front of him and before he knew it he had a wound from his right shoulder to his left hip. He growled in anger and lashed out at her, but she dodged and punched him in the gut, sending him flying into a building. He stayed there in the rubble for a while, and Luna heard him chuckle.

"You're so…."

"…_cruel." Aurelio sighed when Luna had rejected him for the hundredth time. She rolled her eyes._

"_You're too stubborn for your own good."_

"_I only want you to be happy."_

"_Sure. But you need to be happy first, right?" Aurelio grabbed her hand and looked her in the eyes. For a second there, it seemed like he was seeing someone entirely else. It was the reason Luna could never be with him. Aurelio tried to make her into something she wasn't. _

"_Don't be like that." he said with a charming smile that could've made a nun sing, but she knew he was hurt. Luna looked away, feeling a little guilty. Despite his mad crush on her, they were still friends. He was kind to her, whether it be because she reminded him of someone, she didn't care. He was the only one who tried to talk to her, and she appreciated the effort. _

_But friends were all they could ever be. _

"_I'm sorry." _

Luna held her head in agony. What were these sudden flashbacks? Granted, she remembered everything about Kazuo and how Aurelio had murdered him, but other than that, she remembered nothing else. Now, everything was slowly coming back to her. Had she been friends with Aurelio before? She shook her head, trying to sort her thoughts out. Aurelio took his chance.

"Luna!" Ichigo yelled to get her attention, but it was too late. Aurelio's blade pierced her stomach. She gasped, blood trickled out from her mouth to her chin, dripping on the ground. She looked him right in the eyes, but the look he had was more shocking than the blade in her body. It was a madman's look accompanied by a wicked smile.

"You've lost your mind." Luna hissed. Aurelio put his hand gently on her cheek.

"All I've lost is _you_ and to be honest, it's not that bad. I realize all you are is an obstacle. When I overcome you, she will be gone too. She'll stop haunting me."

"She? Who's _she_?" Aurelio's smirk disappeared. The hand he put on Luna's cheek was lighting up red. She could feel his reiatsu gathering there, preparing for a Cero.

"LUNA!" Ichigo screamed on the top of his lungs. He looked at Hitsugaya, since he couldn't move his legs. "Do something!" Hitsugaya didn't move. "Are you listening? She'll die if you-" A flash of red interrupted him. Ichigo's eyes widened. Was it over?

The smoke cleared up.

Luna was standing there still, but had her hand around Aurelio's wrist. She'd redirected the Cero to an empty building on their left. Aurelio was dumbstruck. He'd pierced her with his blade! How was she still able to move and stare at him so calmly? Luna slowly grabbed his other hand, and pulled the sword out of her body without flinching. She leaned over to his ear, and whispered:

"Pathetic."

Aurelio found himself flying down towards the ground. Why was his skin burning? Of course, Luna had fired a Cero. Why couldn't he feel his arm? Oh. It was severed from his body. So what about his wings? Also severed. What would happen now? He would probably die if he didn't regenerate quickly.

He hit the ground, but didn't even feel the impact. He had yet to realize he'd been stabbed through the gut. Luna had apparently returned the favor. It was strange. After a Cero from the Primera, he should've turned to ashes. She'd held back. Aurelio stared up at the night sky. The moon shone brightly and there wasn't a single cloud to ruin it. He heard footsteps, but he didn't bother looking up. He'd lost. He'd lost everything. Luna didn't bother to speak first.

"Why don't you just kill me?" he eventually murmured. There was another silence after that. He waited. It wasn't like he could go anywhere now, so all he could do is wait and slowly regenerate.

"If you're killed by another Hollow's blade, you'll be destroyed."

"What are you talking about?"

"I don't want you to go to Hell."

"I don't need your pity." Luna spoke in such a calm manner that it was killing him more than his bleeding. Why couldn't she just go away and let him be?

"It's not pity. I cannot judge whether your actions were evil or not. Is it evil to hurt another monster? Who knows. If a Shinigami's Zanpakutō kills you, your actions as a human will decide whether you go to Hell or Soul Society. If I were to kill you, you would be completely destroyed." After this explanation, Aurelio only got more frustrated.

"I don't want a second chance! Oblivion sounds nice enough for me." he growled displeased. He heard Luna sigh.

"I won't kill you, no matter what you say. Can't. For old time's sake." Aurelio was flustered for a second, but then smiled faintly.

"So you finally started to remember."

"Yes. I know you were trying to bring back a memory through me, but it could never work. I can't be that person, whoever she was." Aurelio stayed silent.

"I suppose this is the end." Suddenly he found Luna leaning over him. Her blue eyes seemed to shine like diamonds that night. He watched her lean closer, and wondered what she was planning on doing. Her kiss was so unexpected that he didn't even feel Hyōrinmaru penetrate his heart. In fact, he didn't feel much of anything except Luna's lips. He'd longed for this moment for years. Too bad it had to end with death. Luna pulled back, staring into his crimson eyes with a certain astuteness.

"Forget her." she whispered to him.

"I will." he whispered back, and she knew he would. One breeze and all that remained were ashes, which were taken away with the wind.

Luna didn't know how she was supposed to feel. But she felt surprisingly at ease. It was over. Well, partially over. She didn't feel heartbroken, though sad because Aurelio destroyed a potential friendship. If he hadn't been hanging on to his past, none of this would have happened. Kazuo wouldn't have died, she wouldn't have been marked a traitor and Aurelio wouldn't have to be killed. At least she got one good thing out of this mess. She looked over to Ichigo.

He seemed to be feeling rather awkward, he was frowning and staring at his feet.

"What are you thinking about?" Luna asked him curiously. Ichigo glanced at her.

"I was just wondering why you kissed him." he muttered a little embarrassed. She tilted her head slightly. Was he jealous? She smirked.

"Well, he was about to die, so I thought, why not? If you wanted a kiss, you could've just asked-"

"-S-Stop that! Don't touch me, you pervert!"

"Pervert? Come on, you love being dominated!"

"Rape! RAPE!"

"I'm still here, you know…."

"Shut up, midget."

* * *

Things weren't looking too good for the Fracción. Of course, they didn't need to risk their lives. All of this was a distraction, and it worked. Soul Society sent a large part of their Shinigami forces to deal with them. Naturally, The Fracción summoned all kinds of Menos and Adjuchas to keep the Shinigami busy. While in Karakura Town the Fracción were slowly retreating, the battle in Soul Society was just about to begin.

* * *

**GOD DAMN THIS TOOK ME LONG. Way too long. I was supposed to have it up a few days ago, but I'm a major procrastinator so… yeah. Hm. I could've made it longer, but by the end my inspiration was completely wiped out. I was also supposed to have a super, tear-jerking moment and romantic one, but I thought, 'Fuck it, that's too cliché,' and decided to keep it simple. I doubt Luna was cry for Aurelio anyway xD**

**ALSOOOOO, ****KamiKari519**** is doing an AWESOME fic on the past of all the Neo Espada. So, click on her AWESOME profile and check it out. NAO. Or I will get Aurelio to haunt you at night, I swear to god, I'll make him break stuff and… well, basically scare the shit out of you.**

**No Neo Espada Encyclopedia. I don't want to ruin the tension too much with comical relief :P**

**REVUWZ, tips, ideas, blah blah blah, the usual stuff.**

**Kthxbai :3**


	12. Madness In Soul Society

Dark, damp and cold. How was she supposed to get out of here now? Amaya growled displeased when she couldn't move her arms. The more she tried, the more she got drained from her energy. She started screaming and thrashing around like a fish on the surface, but it was of no use. Saturo had come to her and told her everything right after the meeting. Amaya was growing frustrated with the whole situation. At least she had Yukiko to talk with, but that was all. When Saturo left to Karakura Town, Amaya was ready to blow up whole Location Neo.

"Calm down!" she heard Yukiko yell at her from the other cell. "You'll just wear yourself out."

"But I can't just sit here and do nothing!" Amaya sighed annoyed. She wanted in on the battle, dammit! She looked around for the hundredth time. Was there nothing she could she use to get out of here? She sighed wearily.

"Listen,"

"What?"

"Listen!"

"I'm listening!"

"No you're not, shut up and listen!" There was a long silence, but Amaya didn't hear a thing. That was, until someone got blasted through her wall. She could only see dust and rubble as she coughed. She almost choked on the smoke when she saw Grimmjow on the ground. He'd also partially destroyed the wall between her cell and Yukiko's. She could see the Cero also shackled to the wall.

"What the…." Amaya's eyes widened. "Grimmjow, you-"

"-You're a traitor." Ulquiorra stood in the opening, staring down at Grimmjow with an indifferent expression on his face.

"What? No he's not!" Yukiko yelled without even knowing what happened.

"I'm not, but you should really shut up." Grimmjow told his 'daughter' annoyed. Amaya could just picture Yukiko pouting in the other cell.

"Really? What would you call this, then?" Ulquiorra asked, showing him a card, throwing it down at his feet. It was the key to Amaya's cell. He had another card in his other hand, which was probably Yukiko's cell-card. Grimmjow rolled his eyes.

"So what if I want them out? You realize you've already lost the Primera and the two who could help you win this battle you've locked up. That's pretty damn retarded if ya ask me."

"Whether they'd be useful is irrelevant. It's up to Aizen to decide what to do with these traitors." Grimmjow narrowed his eyes for a second.

"Is that so? What if Aizen never gets out?" Both Amaya and Yukiko were waiting for a response. Ulquiorra looked once at Amaya before he responded.

"Your lack of faith is just another proof of your treachery."

"Lack of faith? I'm just discussing possibilities, you ass!" Grimmjow yelled at him, getting up from his spot. He was taller than Ulquiorra, but this didn't seem to bother the former Cuatro in the least. Amaya subtly reached out to the card Ulquiorra had thrown down. As Grimmjow was yelling as Ulquiorra, and Ulquiorra was arguing back on a much calmer tone, Amaya had the card and pushed it towards her with her foot. She managed to pick it up with both her feet, and thanks to her flexibility, she managed to insert it in the little slot on her right. Her shackles opened.

She got out before Ulquiorra could try anything.

"Well, it's over. I'll take that." Amaya was incredibly fast to pluck Yukiko's card out of Ulquiorra's hand, and release Yukiko.

"What do you plan on doing now? Kill me?"

"Nah. I think we'll take our chances in Karakura Town. That midget owes me, after all." Yukiko said with a grin. Amaya opened a Garganta. Ulquiorra knew he couldn't take on three of them, so he let them go.

"Otousan? Aren't you coming with us?" Yukiko asked when Grimmjow made no effort to follow them. Her 'dad' shrugged.

"Shinigami still disgust me more than Aizen. I think I'll take my chances here."

"Not without a price." Ulquiorra interrupted him. Grimmjow narrowed his eyes.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"A friendly battle, perhaps. I wish to see if you're still of any use to us." Grimmjow glared intensely at him.

"Get ready to get your ass handed to you." He turned to Yukiko and Amaya, getting annoyed. "What are you idiots waiting for? Leave. I'll see you on the battlefield." Amaya frowned.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Go!" The two girls left through the Garganta. Grimmjow and Ulquiorra were now alone. The former Sexta grinned widely. "I've been waiting for this for a long time." Ulquiorra didn't speak.

Moments later, a crimson Cero obliterated half of the cells.

* * *

Cruz looked around, almost anxiously. This was the first time she'd been in Soul Society. It was surprisingly big. The lower-level Hollows had already created chaos by attacking several buildings and killing a few of the weaker Shinigami. She looked around for her target while her comrades had already spread out. Where was that pirate? She landed on a rooftop on a high building and decided to pick another target to waste her time with. Suddenly, a bolt of energy behind her distracted her. She easily dodge it, however, and turned around to see who had the guts to piss her off.

It was a small Shinigami girl with brown eyes and dark purple hair in a bun covered by a light blue cloth. Really? That weakling thought she could take her on?

'_This will be a waste of time, but whatever. I'm bored anyway.' _

"You go no further." the girl spoke, as if she was confident she could stop her.

'_Does this girl have a deathwish?' _Cruz felt the huge gap between their powers. If she wanted, she could kill the girl on the spot. But what's a good battle without toying around a little?

"Oh?" Cruz landed down in front of her, unsheathing her Noche Asasino. "How are you planning on stopping me?"

"Just watch! _Hajike, Tobiume_!" Cruz was generally unimpressed by her attacks. She was even weaker than the last guy she'd fought, the pineapple head. The girl lunged at her, but Cruz dodged easily. Suddenly, the girl whirled around and yelled: "Hadō no. 73: Sōren Sōkatsui!" Two shots of blue fire shot out of her hands and blasted Cruz through a building. She stayed down in the rubble for a while, then laughed heartily.

"Huh, interesting move there, Shinigami!" she got up and wiped the dust off her. The girl was dumbstruck that her attack had barely even scratched her. "Obviously no one told you. I'm the Sexta Espada, Cruz Deifilia!"

"Sexta?" the girl realized how small her chances of success were, yet she persisted. "I don't care what rank you are! I won't let you harm anyone!" Cruz snickered.

"How _noble_ you are. So naïve, though. Enough talk! Show me more of those magic tricks, Shinigami! The longer you keep me curious, the longer you'll live!" She shot towards the girl like a bullet, rapidly attacking her, almost completely overwhelming her. The Shinigami narrowed her eyes, managing to keep one hand free for another spell.

"Hadō no. 51: Tenran!" Cruz was thrown back a little by a widening tornado-like blast, giving the Shinigami enough time to counter-attack. She tossed several fireballs at Cruz with her blade, but the Sexta swatted them away like they were nothing. Right when she was about to mock her, the Shinigami pulled out another trick from her sleeve. "Bakudō no. 9: Horin!" An orange hued rope wrapped itself around Cruz, but the Shinigami wasn't done yet. "Bakudō no. 31: Saju Sabaku!" A yellow energy rope bound her arms, probably as an extra measure.

"Is that it?" Cruz derided her.

"You're finished! Hadō no. 88: Hiryugekizokushintenraiho!" A gigantic electricity blast was fired from her hands. When it made contact with Cruz, it made an enormous explosion. It was a very powerful spell. The Shinigami sighed relieved, wiping the sweat off her forehead. All those Kidō spells had taken their toll from her. The dust cleared up, and the Shinigami was slack jawed.

"Haha!" Cruz laughed almost uncontrollably. "That spell is really a mouthful! Well, that was fun." Cruz's skin was only burned and she was bleeding from a few deep wounds. Even now she was really injured, she seemed to be feeling perfectly fine. Amused, even.

"Y-you're… you shouldn't have-"

"-Survived? Perhaps you didn't understand. I'm the Sexta Espada, girl. There's no way you could've beaten me!" Cruz wiped the dust off her blade. "Time for you to die! It was fun, while it lasted."

"You can't win!"

"Why?" Cruz became serious. "Why not? Why is it that always Shinigami have to be the winners? There is no ultimate good and evil! Good and evil are always biased! This time, _my_ good will prevail over_ your_ evil!"

She was decapitated before she even noticed. The severed head rolled over the ground with the shocked expression still on the girl's face. Her body fell down quickly after it. Cruz stood right behind her, wiping the blood off her blade.

"There was no need for an overkill, you know." Cruz looked up to Roxette, who'd been watching their fight.

"Why not? At least this way I'm sure she won't come back. I have no interest in dealing with the same weaklings over and over again. It's a mistake most others seem to make." Cruz responded with a shrug, glancing at the severed head with indifference.

"So why didn't you do the same with that red-haired Shinigami?" Roxette asked curiously.

"I gave him another chance. He still has plenty of room to grow, and I plan on fighting him again. He was fun! But this bitch really didn't do anything but fire her little spells at me. She's an amateur in real battle."

"There is some truth to that, but still-"

"-I've had enough of this talk. I'm going to look for the pirate!" Cruz said with a wide smirk, and Sonido'd away, leaving Roxette behind. The Octava bit her lip, staring down at the body. Cruz always seemed to know exactly what she wanted. As she looked around, trying to search for her own target's reiatsu, she soon found him surprisingly close.

"Did you do that?"

Roxette jumped out the way just in time to dodge his blade. Ikkaku seemed to have an unreadable expression on his face. Though there was no anger or grief, she knew he was probably furious about what had happened. His reiatsu was skyrocketing. Or maybe he was simply preparing for their own battle.

"No, my comrade did." Roxette answered calmly. Still no expression on his face, even when he finally responded.

"Let's take this battle somewhere else."

"Agreed."

* * *

Skullak scanned the area for his target. He was eager to pay the Captain of Squad 2 back for what she'd done to Ggio. He was on Sōkyoku Hill, sitting on the cliff and looking out over the rest of the Seireitei. Usually, it must've been a pretty peaceful place. Now there were fires everywhere, explosions, reiatsu skyrocketing from both his enemies and his comrades, but no sign of Soi Fon. He sighed, when he suddenly noticed three people nearby on a rooftop, seeming to be conversing. It was Chié, and two other Shinigami. What was she doing?

In reality, Chié had tried to stay away from battle as much as she could. She wasn't a fighter. Yet Rangiku had managed to find her, clearly still upset over the fact that Chié had managed to capture her. Surprisingly Shūhei was there as well. He'd spotted her first, and Rangiku had followed him.

"I don't want a battle!" Chié tried to explain.

"Then you shouldn't have come here." Rangiku responded, unsheathing her sword. Chié took a step back.

"It wasn't like they gave me an option." the Novena mumbled.

"Doesn't matter. I'm going to fight you whether you want to or not."

"Is that really necessary?" Shūhei asked.

"What are you talking about?" Rangiku responded annoyed, turning to him.

"I mean… well, she forms no threat. It would be better if you could use your energy on more threatening enemies." Shūhei didn't manage to convince her. "Tell you what, I'll deal with her. You go help Kira. He's nearby in a battle with several Hollows." Rangiku sighed.

"Fine, then. I'll leave it to you." With a Shunpo, she was gone. Shūhei eyed her a little suspiciously.

"Why are you here?"

"Do you mean me specifically, or my comrades?" Chié countered his question.

"Your comrades." the Shinigami answered.

"They will attempt to free Aizen, of course. What other goal could we have?"

"But why? Why would you free Aizen?"

"Because Ulquiorra wants to, and he is our leader."

"You follow this leader unquestionably?" Shūhei said with a deep frown. Chié rolled her eyes.

"You follow you Captain-Commander unquestionably, don't you?"

"I suppose you have a point." Chié folded her arms as she stared at a nearby building burning to the ground. "So what will you do?" the Shinigami asked curiously.

"Originally, I was assigned a target. However, I do not think I will look for him. I have no desire to fight anyone."

"Wouldn't that be disobeying orders?"

"Not necessarily. They never specifically told me to go out and _find_ my target." Chié said with a faint smile. She looked at Shūhei. "What about you? What are you going to do?" The man shrugged.

"See if I can help out anyone, since you don't want to fight. Goodbye, then." Chié was a little disappointed. She'd hoped to talk to him a while longer.

"Goodbye." she responded. But just as Shūhei was about to leave, he stopped and turned around again, facing her. He seemed a little hesitant before he said anything.

"Watch your back out there." he told her, and then jumped off the building, leaving her a little puzzled.

* * *

"Huh. No resistance here." Denetsu mumbled, putting a hand through his hair as he looked around. The three of them were near the Captain-Commander's office, but there was no one nearby besides him. Denetsu found this very odd, but both Shiro and Takashi knew that whoever had been guarding the Captain-Commander was probably nearby.

"You can come out now." Takashi said. A door opened on their left and a large man stepped in. Shiro had to put his hand on Denetsu's mouth to keep him from laughing. The man was tall and wide, and had the head of a dog with red and white fur and yellow eyes. He had a Captain's robe. "You must be Captain Komamura." Takashi greeted him coolly.

"I see you've done your homework." the Captain responded as calm as he was. "You go no further than this, Arrancar."

"Oh, we'll see about that." Takashi looked at Denetsu, who got the hint. Within a flash he'd unsheathed his sword and lunged at the Captain, giving Takashi and Shiro the opportunity to break through and continue to the Captain-Commander's room.

Komamura was about to follow them, when Denetsu quickly blocked his path and shut the door.

"Sorry, Dogman. Can't let you pass yet." he said cockily.

"Then I have no choice but to eliminate you."

"Don't think so." Komamura was shocked at the speed he moved. He'd been informed that these three had been the Fracción of the Espada. If the Fracción were so strong…. But his thoughts were interrupted and disproven when Denetsu spoke again. "I know what you're thinking. But we're not at mere Fracción level. We just pretended to be, for the time being. Takashi likes to do things more subtly. In actuality, all three of us are easily at Vasto Lorde level." Komamura narrowed his eyes.

"So, you've been lying to your superiors." he said, preparing to attack. Their blades met, the sound of metal meeting metal filling the room. Komamura gradually put more power behind his blows, but Denetsu held his own against him.

"It was for their own good. To be honest, Ulquiorra probably couldn't have pulled it off on his own. Takashi is the only one that stands a chance against your Captain-Commander, but we knew Ulquiorra would never let us make our own plans. That's why we had to operate in secret."

"And get rid of your own comrades." Komamura added, aiming for Denetsu's shoulder. Denetsu Sonido'd to the left, managing to cut Komamura's side but his second attack was blocked.

"Also, necessary. They weren't strong enough, they didn't deserve to be in the top three."

"I see. But I'm afraid your plans end here. _Todoroke, Tenken_!" The Captain went in his Shikai, and Denetsu braced himself. He knew this would immediately follow up on an attack. He expected to see a phantom, large fist coming up front, but instead a phantom feet came from his left and kicked him out of Komamura's way.

Right when the Captain rushed to open the door, a pink barrier showed itself the moment he touched the doorknob. He was trapped inside. Denetsu, who was on the ground, laughed amused at his flustered expression.

"You didn't think we planned ahead, Captain Dogman? We were here just a day ago, already making preparations! You have no chance of winning this." Komamura glared at him, and Denetsu stood up. Time to start the real fight.

* * *

Takashi and Shiro looked around, and quickly spotted the Captain-Commander with his back turned to them.

"So you're finally here."

"You were expecting us."

"Of course. Let's take this battle outside. I would like my office to be undamaged when I return." Takashi faintly smiled.

"You're assuming you will survive our fight." he said, while Shiro stayed silent, letting Takashi do all the talking.

"As are you." The Captain-Commander now turned to face them. The three of them disappeared, and now stood outside in an open square. Takashi and Shiro exchanged looks, and Takashi nodded at him. Shiro then lunged at the Captain-Commander.

The outcome of this battle was uncertain. But what was certain, was that the battle that was about to take place, would change things forever.

* * *

**I know, I know. Hinamori got her head chopped off, very cruel of me, I get it. But I honestly don't give a fuck. I'm trying to be as realistic as possible (Unlike Titty Kubo) and someone as weak and utterly useless as Hinamori wouldn't make it far in a real battle with someone as relentless as Cruz. Uhm... maybe I did let her overkill Hinamori a little. Hope her owner won't be mad... xD**

**Ugh, what a pain. I just finished my final school exams so it took me a while to upload this shit. SUMMER VACATION. FINALLY. WHY DOESN'T THIS STUPID COUNTRY LET ME HAVE MY VACATION EARLIER, GODDAMMIT? -sigh-**

**Anyway, the next will be mainly a battle between Yamamoto vs Shiro and Takashi. Side battles will be Byakuya vs Mai, Skullak vs Soi Fon, Kanna vs Kyoraku and a few other battles, though they won't really be described as much. Oh, and Amaya and Yukiko join the Shinigami in Karakura Town. See how that works out.**

**REVUW AND COMMENT AND WHATEVER.**

**ALSO. I need permission to kill some of the (two or three at max) OCs off. DON'T PUT IT IN THE REVIEWZ! It has to be a surprise :D Just PM me and how you want them to die (nothing major like, "I want him/her to die and save the whole galaxy in the process". More something like "He/she died bravely while protecting a friend" or whatever). AGAIN: DON'T PUT IT IN TEH REVIEWZ.**

**kthnxbai.**


	13. Madness Released

It was strange how, amidst all the chaos and death, she was able to focus on one thing. He was fast, Mai gave him that. She leaped out of the way in time. This guy clearly didn't waste any time talking. The Séptima drew her blade quickly and blocked another frontal attack. Byakuya Kuchiki stared her in the eyes, eerily calm as the sound of metal clashing with metal echoed through the open square. Mai frowned, trying to push him back when he used Shunpo to move behind her. Mai made a backwards cartwheel, avoiding the devastating power from a Hadō spell. She hadn't even heard him speak the words; this guy was clearly not to be underestimated. If he was, the price to pay would be her life. She backed away a few feet, carefully eyeing him like a predator trying to find a method to take down its prey. Multiple options raced through her mind, but none of them gave a satisfying solution.

"Are all Shinigami this rude?" Mai mocked him. Kuchiki didn't answer before he fired another spell. He spoke quietly, and because of all the screaming around her she couldn't understand the words. But the moment she saw blue fire shoot towards her, she Sonido'd out of the way, dodging it in the nick of time.

"Introductions are redundant. You are an enemy I will eliminate, that's all there is to it." Kuchiki said coolly. Mai rolled her eyes.

"Pompous ass." she hissed beneath her breath, and immediately charged at him. Their blades met and Mai skillfully dodged a few of his blows. Kuchiki narrowed his eyes in annoyance, striking with more force behind his sword now. This opponent was clearly different from the previous Séptima, Zommarie Leroux. She was a lot more flexible, and a lot more irritating. Kuchiki decided that there would be no honor in continuing this battle out of curiosity, so he decided to go all out.

Mai had not seen this change in his body language, so when she blocked his blade, the immense force behind it almost threw her off. Despite the setback, she smirked contently: her opponent had finally decided to show his true skills. No point in hiding hers then, right? Mai ducked for another blow, and with a clean kick to the abdomen managed to make Kuchiki take a step back. She fired off a Cero immediately. Kuchiki got out of the way in time, though his left shoulder and arm were burned by the blast.

It didn't seem to faze him at all, or at least, he didn't care to show it. Instead he immediately got into a counter-attack, a wave of what seemed to be flower petals charging right at her. Mai was taken aback by this, but realized those weren't petals but tiny little knives. She made a run for it, but wherever she turned, the knives were there. Eventually, she tried to fight them off but there were too many. When the wave died off she was covered in cuts. Not a pleasant experience. Kuchiki used this distraction, appearing right behind her and firing another Hadō spell, this one blasting Mai clean through a nearby house. She had no time to contemplate her next move as she lay in the rubble. Kuchiki followed her with the intent to finish it off. Mai frowned at his presumption that she was _that_ weak. She blocked the tip of the blade aimed at her heart with her own sword, and released her reiatsu, a blast of blue energy forcing Kuchiki back.

She swiftly got on her feet and before he could recover, she punched him out of the building. Kuchiki landed on his feet and realized this opponent might not be that easy. She'd withstood his wave of sharp, rose-colored knives. He had no other option if he wanted to end this fast. Mai got out of the house as well, facing him. Usually, they would've exchanged a few words, but Mai figured they'd already talked to much and so did he.

"_Bankai_." Kuchiki uttered, his sword sinking into the ground. A row of huge swords appeared behind him. Mai narrowed her eyes, getting into a defensive stance. "_Senbonzakura Kageyoshi_." Mai couldn't believe her eyes when even a much larger wave of small petal-like knives came shooting her way. This was bad. She knew she couldn't outrun it, but if she didn't do anything, this would certainly kill her. She had no choice.

"_Chime, Plata Viento Lechuza_. " A huge wave of reiatsu countered the petals and forced them back. Mai had entered her Resurrección. She had two white wings now, her top was a matching white color with a blue stripe in the middle of it. Her skirt was also white, but with a matching light blue cloth over it, accompanied by blue boots. Kuchiki seemed slightly surprised, though it was to be expected. Every Espada had a Resurrección. Mai smirked contently, when without warning, the wave of petals came shooting her way.

She used a Cero and they diverted to her left and right, making the situation worse. Mai jumped up, soaring through the sky. Thanks to the speed her wings gave her, she could avoid the petals, though she didn't count on the fact that the large wave now divided itself into four smaller waves, attacking her from different angles.

"Dammit!" Mai pushed one wave in one blast back with her sword, but had to dodge the other two. She didn't see the fourth one behind her, getting caught in the small wave as a consequence. More cuts on her arms and legs especially, but she managed to push the petals back thanks to a powerful burst of reiatsu. However, Kuchiki took this chance to fire a powerful Hadō spell.

"Hadō no. 88: _Hiryugekizokushintenraiho__." _A devastating blast of electricity was released from his hand, shooting in a speed Mai couldn't keep up with, with all her injuries.

'_I'm fin-'_

"_Cero."_ A nonchalant voice, and a crimson burst. The reiatsu that was unleashed was one Mai couldn't possibly mistake for anyone else's.

"Grimmjow!" Mai's exclamation was lost in the sound of the enormous explosion when the Cero and the Hadō spell met. _'Since when did he get this strong?' _Mai gasped, realizing his reiatsu was right up there with Kanna's. "Why are you here?" Grimmjow smirked bitterly when he thought back. Unfortunately, the fight with Ulquiorra had been left unfinished.

"_Grimmjow, do you really think you can beat me?"_

"_I don't have to beat you, Ulquiorra. Just keeping you busy."_

"_Why?"_

"_Because I can, asshole."_

"_As you wish." _

Mai then noticed his right arm was covered in bandage, as was his left foot. He'd probably been in one hell of a battle. Why was he here?

"_Hm."_

"_Why'd you stop fighting, Ulquiorra?"_

"_Shinigami nearby. We'll have to stop, for the time being."_

"_Hey! Come back here, you son of a bitch!"_

"Grimmjow… how… when did you reach this level?" Mai demanded to know, pulling herself back together.

"Did you think I was slacking off the past few weeks? Idiot." Grimmjow spoke evenly without looking at her, his hands now both in his pockets. "While you guys were doing absolutely nothing, I got stronger."

"Don't patronize me!" Mai yelled at him, a blush covering her cheeks.

"I'm not patronizing anyone, you idiot."

"I'm not an idiot!"

"Then why are you yelling at your savior, you idiot-"

"-Shut up!" Their conversation was interrupted when the wave of petals came back down on them. Grimmjow merely glanced at Mai as he Sonido'd out the way.

"Mai," he spoke calmly, instantly gaining her attention after she'd avoided the petals "are you serious about this fight?" The Séptima glared at him. God this guy pissed her off sometimes.

"Of course!" she immediately replied. She wouldn't be in her Resurrección if that weren't the case.

"Then stop fucking around." There was a tense silence, but then he gave her a playful grin. Mai stood there, a little flustered. It wasn't his natural grin, it was almost like a teasing smile. She turned red yet again. "See ya, Miss Idiot." Grimmjow disappeared. Mai gritted her teeth, pissed at how easily she got thrown off her feet by him.

"Grimmjow, you complete ass!"

* * *

"You youngsters think you can take me on?" The Captain-Commander stated this so trivially, Takashi couldn't help but smile faintly. Shiro, however, took the lead as they had discussed previously.

"We're not that young, Captain-Commander." Shiro answered politely. The two Arrancar had unsheathed their swords, preparing for the battle. The Captain-Commander had already taken off his white haori and his wooden staff had turned into his sword. They were ready to begin the battle. While in the other room, Denetsu had successfully held back the Captain, Shiro and Takashi were fighting the Captain-Commander, the man who'd held that position for a thousand years. Takashi had to admit, defeating him had about an eighty percent chance of failure. However, he was planning to turn the odds in their favor.

After all, Takashi was one of the most brilliant strategists you'd ever meet, and Shiro trusted him with his life, as did Denetsu. They would follow him through the fire all the way down to the pits of hell if that was what Takashi wanted to do, which wasn't even that unlikely. Shiro zoned off for a moment, a distant memory forming in his head. Takashi had been smiling gently and saying, _"What do you think Hell looks like? Ah, now I'm curious. Let's go take a look!" _ Of course, he'd been joking (which was a rare thing).

"Shiro-san?" Takashi asked a little annoyed. _'Zoning off in the middle of a battle! What's he thinking?' _He added the honorific to Shiro's name on purpose. A small part of a tactic that would grant them victory.

"I'm ready." Shiro said curtly, holding his blade ready. Takashi nodded once and Shiro took off first, aiming the tip of his blade on Yamamoto's head who, as expected from the Captain-Commander, easily dodged. Takashi knew where he would appear, but he held back. Instead, he attacked him head-on, as you would expect a less experienced opponent to do. Yamamoto blocked it easily. Shiro shot towards him from behind, but both he and Takashi had to take their distance when searing hot flames were summoned around the Shinigami.

"I have no time to play games." The room was almost engulfed by red flames, forcing both of the Arrancar to get outside. Takashi stayed closest to Yamamoto while Shiro tried to flank him, avoiding the flames skillfully. His reiatsu was almost all-out and skyrocketing still, far above Takashi's reiatsu at the moment.

Shiro failed at flanking the Shinigami, as expected, and Yamamoto took this chance to counter. Shiro had counted on this and jumped to the left, dodging and charging a Cero. Flames were thrown his way, forcing him to cut off the Cero and take distance. The battle went like this for a while, Shiro taking the lead and Takashi assisting him. In reality, Takashi was just waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

'_This is my chance!'_ Takashi dove down towards the Captain-Commander while he was occupied by the rapid attacks of Shiro. Yamamoto sensed Takashi behind him and pushed Shiro away with flames, turning around at the precise moment Takashi had his blade in the air. He cut Takashi in the chest casually, and the Arrancar fell to the ground. Or, pretended to fall. Yamamoto, convinced Shiro was the bigger threat, thought that engulfing Takashi with flames was enough to incapacitate him when in reality, it wasn't nearly enough.

"Now!" Shiro yelled, all his reiatsu and energy put into one blow. Yamamoto, dealing with the incredible strength of this attack, couldn't respond in time as he blocked Shiro's attack and pierced him through his stomach. He felt Takashi's hand on his back while Shiro was coughing up blood in front of him and heard a quick whisper.

"_Allow me to release your nightmare_." Suddenly, he felt something else beside Takashi hand. It was a blade, penetrating his back and going through his chest. Meanwhile Shiro had charged up a Cero, and launched it. Before Yamamoto was almost overwhelmed by the blast, he felt the necklace with a golden key attached snap around his neck and being taken away. Even though he'd been pierced by Takashi's blade, he held back a point blank Cero. At the same time, Shiro fell on his knees.

There was no sign of Takashi.

He, and the golden key to Aizen's cell, had disappeared.

* * *

"Not bad." Skullak narrowed his eyes at the 'compliment' Captain Soi Fon was giving him. They'd been fighting for about an hour now, and Skullak was set on getting his revenge for what she'd done to Ggio Vega. Said Fracción was pissed he couldn't be there himself, but Skullak was set on paying Soi Fon back in tenfold. He readied himself for another round, wiping the blood off the side of his forehead. In reality, he couldn't care less about whether Aizen was freed or not. Right now, he wanted to make sure she was defeated, once and for all.

"Tired?" Skullak asked, seeing her pant heavily. He himself was worn out as well, but he wasn't about to show it too much. Soi Fon frowned slightly.

"Unfortunately for you, I'm still good to go." They lunged at each other, and for any other lower-ranking Shinigami or Arrancar, it would've been very hard to follow. They used incredible speed in their battle. In the air they were just blurry, on the ground they created dust that flew everywhere and occasionally attacks left marks in the ground or nearby buildings.

Skullak managed to sneak in a Cero, but Soi Fon countered it with a powerful Hadō spell. Amazingly enough, even though Skullak had been stabbed twice with her Shikai, she couldn't get to them. One mark was on his upper left leg, and the second was on his right shoulder. It should be hard for him to defend both these spots, but he managed to see through Soi Fon's moves so far and it frustrated her.

'_I need to bring him down before this becomes a problem.' _Right now they were fighting on equal terms, but she felt that if this continued for much longer, he would get the upper hand. Should she bring out her Bankai? No, too soon.

Just a few feet away, another battle was going on. Kanna yawned, stretching as Kyoraku shot towards her. He stopped halfway.

"Not taking this seriously, huh?" he said casually. Kanna shot him a glance.

"Not really. All I need to do is keep you busy."

"I'm not allowed to leave, then."

"Yup."

Kanna flew up to the sky when Kyoraku suddenly disappeared. She flew as high as she could, as fast as she could. She knew of his little games. He could appear in shadows, a part of a game called Kageoni. Another game of his, was that whoever was higher up won, Takaoni. But she had the itching feeling she was forgetting something.

"White."

"Sh-" Kanna soon felt blood gushing out the wound on her back. Irooni, the color-game. Dammit, how did she forget that? Kaito had specifically told her to study his file! Though, she could use this to her advantage. The Captain, who was now in front of her, was about to say something, but Kanna wouldn't let him. "Black!" she exclaimed, and landed a nice hit on his torso.

"You learn fast." Kyoraku commented, creating a little distance between them as he glanced at his wound.

"Of course." Kanna snapped, getting annoyed. "I'm not the Tercera because I won a damn lottery or something." The Shinigami laughed, entertained by that answer. "Glad you're having fun." The Arrancar muttered sarcastically. Suddenly, a wave of reiatsu interrupted both fights. What was this ominous feeling Kanna had in the pit of her stomach?

Both Soi Fon and Kyoraku stopped fighting as well, staring off in the distance. Muken had been opened. Soi Fon tried to leave immediately, heading towards the disturbance, but Skullak wasn't about to let her. He blocked her path and fired off a Cero.

"I'm sorry, but I can't allow you to leave yet." he said in a calm manner. Soi Fon narrowed her eyes. Kyoraku, however, knew it would be too late even if he did manage to sneak away from his opponent. Kanna found it peculiar that his response was minimal.

"Aren't you going to make a run for it?" Kanna asked, adjusting the gloves on her hands.

"It would be a futile attempt since…" Kyoraku sighed wearily as he admitted defeat "…since you've already won."

* * *

"How did YOU get here?" Ichigo gaped at the two Arrancar who'd appeared out of freaking nowhere. Yukiko scratched the back of her head, a little flustered while Amaya giggled amused at his shocked expression, but she turned serious when she saw Luna just a feet away, staring off in the distance. She elbowed Yukiko, who now also turned to the former Primera, and they completely ignored Ichigo, who was getting seriously pissed.

"Hey, long time no see." Amaya said cheerfully. Luna merely glanced at her. Ichigo was rather baffled at this, seeing how she'd been almost gleefully sexually assaulting him just a second ago and now had turned all cool. Luna sighed in frustration, and turned to the two younger Arrancar.

"Why are you here?" she demanded to know, a hint of anger hidden in the question.

"We… well… hey, what kind of greeting is that, anyway?" Amaya pouted, folding her arms like a displeased child. Yukiko rolled her eyes at this but remained silent. Luna turned her back on them and stared at the bridge above the river, pondering something. Ichigo hated it when she was like this, she was completely unreadable.

"Luna?" Ichigo hesitantly asked.

"Do you want to save your friends?" Luna responded ominously. The three behind her exchanged glances.

"What's that supposed to mean? Of course we…." Yukiko stopped mid-sentence when Amaya gasped. "What? What is it?" Luna looked at Amaya and nodded once.

"Already? But… but then…." The former Segunda stuttered, almost as if she couldn't believe what Luna had just communicated to her.

"But then what? What is going on?" Ichigo snapped, getting fidgety with the dark atmosphere.

"Aizen has been released. He will wipe out every last Shinigami in Soul Society unless we get in there and make sure they get out in time." Luna spoke unusually calm. After all, panic would be useless in a situation like this.

"Well, I'm going." Amaya decided. She was a traitor anyway, so she might as well become a full-fledged enemy of the Neo Espada. Yukiko agreed, mostly for the same reasons.

"You would do that for them?" he asked slowly. Luna now fully turned to him, but she'd been expecting his surprise. She carefully studied his expression before she responded matter-of-factly.

"I would do that for _you. _Please don't get me wrong, I couldn't care less whether the others live or die," Luna smiled aloofly at her own answer "but I'd hate to see you unhappy and at this moment, I hate Aizen's guts more than anyone else's. Your Shinigami friends are useful tools to fight him and keep you content."

"Tools? They're not just tools!" Ichigo instantly reacted. "They're my friends, you can't talk about them like that!" Amaya opened her mouth to say something, but Luna shot her a warning glare, getting agitated with the situation.

"Why not?" she snarled, feeling her anger starting to boil inside of her.

"You're a better person than that, Luna." he said, regaining his composure. Luna was shocked for a moment, before she started laughing. Yukiko and Amaya didn't know how to behave in a situation like this, and felt strangely out of place, especially when hearing Luna's response.

"What exactly do you think I _am_, Kurosaki? Some sort of saint? If you hadn't noticed, I'm a Hollow. I've devoured countless of Shinigami and humans to get to this point! Do you honestly think I would suddenly start to care about them just because they're **your** friends? Do you think you've _fixed_ me, Kurosaki?"

"Fixed you? I never meant to-"

"-Cut the crap!" Luna yelled, flying into a rage. "Whenever you stare at me with those eyes, I can just _feel_ your pity! You think I'm sick, don't you? You think you can _cure_ me and put the pieces back together! Sorry to burst your bubble, that will never happen. I've been shattered, and the pieces are already gone." There was a tense silence, before she calmed down. "Give up on me, will you?"

"L-Luna…." Ichigo was shocked at this intense reaction, and from the stubborn look in his eyes, she could tell he wasn't ready to accept that. He foolishly believed she could still be saved. Wordlessly, Luna opened a portal. It wasn't a Garganta, it was more like a warped hole ripped through the space. She was keeping it open with sheer reiatsu and willpower.

"This will take you to Soul Society. I need to stay here and keep it open." Luna said to Yukiko and Amaya. "My power will run it out about… Six days. So you can take your time. Gather as many people as you can and guide them here. This is the only portal that isn't being watched by Ulquiorra." To his credit, Ulquiorra had found a way to keep watch over the Precipice World and direct Hollows through it. That could form a problem. Luna, who once hadn't even known how to open a Garganta, had figured out a way to open a portal without alerting him.

"Alright. Thanks." Amaya said quietly. She could see just by looking at the older Arrancar that she was troubled, but now wasn't the best time to ask Luna about that. Amaya wasn't even sure if Luna had meant all the things she'd said to Ichigo but of course, Luna being Luna, she'd decided to carry the weight of those words all by herself. _'What a stubborn woman,' _Amaya sighed as she and Yukiko went through the portal. Luna glanced at Ichigo.

"Are you going to stay here?"

"Yeah."

"Even after all that I've said?"

"Count on it." Ichigo responded decisively, obviously not the least bit influenced by what Luna had yelled at him.

She couldn't help but smile.

* * *

He bowed down to his _master_. All was well and all was according to his plan. The Shinigami and Neo Espada currently fighting were merely details in the larger scheme he'd planned. No one could stop him now, but he still had to be patient. Just a month or two, and then every piece would fit into the puzzle.

Takashi smiled at the recently freed Aizen Sosuke. But not even Aizen could know about what Takashi was scheming.

'_Not even a God can read my mind.'_

* * *

**So, yeah. This is the end of Free Aizen arc. Next chapter will be the introduction into the Downfall series, which will be a very short arc on its own with about three chapters as well.**

**What's the plot of the series? Well, you figure it out. It's not hard at all :D**

**Also, I've been on a vacation, so that's why it took me so long to update. But now I'm back and ready to update!**

**UNLESS YOU DON'T REVIEW. THEN I WON'T UPDATE. MWAHAHAHAHA!**


	14. Downfall: Soul Society

'_The look on their faces,' _Amaya thought with a grin as she stared down at the Shinigami _'is priceless!' _She and Yukiko were standing next to the portal Luna was holding open from the other side. The Shinigami who'd been in a battle with the Hollows were suspiciously staring up at them. They were at the edge of the Seireitei, and from the looks of it, at least half of the buildings had been destroyed. You could still hear the roars of the Hollows not too far away and the sound of fighting.

"Uhm, excuse me!" Yukiko called out loudly, gaining the full attention of the Shinigami now. Most of the Hollows in the area had been destroyed, but there was another huge flock not too far away. "If you don't want to die, it would be best if you go through this portal. It leads to Karakura Town." One of them snorted.

"Really? We'll just go right on, then." he said sarcastically and his peers laughed.

"Don't take us for fools, Arrancar! We know it's a trap!" another Shinigami added, rather insulted.

"Yeah, we ain't stupid!" Amaya rolled her eyes, though this reaction had been expected. There was no way in hell those Shinigami idiots would trust them. That was, until someone else spoke up.

"You! You're the one who saved Tōshirō, right?" Yukiko looked down at a voluptuous woman with a pink scarf who was pointing at her and vaguely recognized her.

"Yup, that was me." she answered the Shinigami.

"Well, that's good enough for me." Said voluptuous woman jumped up towards the portal, but stopped when the other Shinigami started to protest.

"R-Rangiku! You're just going to trust them?" The woman turned to her fellow.

"Do we have another choice? The Senkaimon have been taken out, Aizen is out of Muken and we could be swarmed by Hollows any minute now. I think I'll take my chances with them. Gather whoever you can and spread the word." she decided determinedly. Amaya suddenly gasped when she realized where she'd seen Rangiku before.

"What?" Yukiko asked alarmed, thinking she'd spotted a Neo Espada.

"I recognize her!" the former Segunda exclaimed, pointing at Rangiku who blinked, a little confused.

"You do?" the lieutenant asked surprised.

"You're that drunk woman!"

"Uh… yeah, that's me." Yukiko gave Amaya an irritated look while folding her arms.

"What? She was drunk when I saw her." the former Segunda muttered defensively.

In the following hour, the Shinigami all rounded up on the portal. Some immediately proceeded to go through it after Rangiku went through it and back to tell the others it was safe. But then the Captains arrived, and things got messy.

* * *

"You… damn, you were one tough son of a bitch." Denetsu was panting, leaning over Komamura's corpse, releasing his Resurrección. It had been the hardest fight of his life. His right arm was nearly cut in half and he was holding it carefully, gritting his teeth in agony. Not to mention that his knees were shaking.

The barrier had been lifted the moment Komamura had breathed his last breath, but Denetsu had no intention of getting out there in the open. The intense spiritual pressure of Aizen would probably do him in considering how greatly he'd been weakened. Besides, if a Shinigami spotted him, he'd be done for. He could barely lift his sword in his current state, but Shiro's condition was even worse.

Suddenly Takashi appeared before him, carrying Shiro on his back, who seemed to be knocked out. Denetsu frowned in concern, looking him over.

"It's done." Takashi merely spoke as Denetsu poked Shiro.

"Considering Shiro's state, I assume it went smoothly?"

"Stop doing that." Denetsu jumped back when Shiro suddenly lifted his head from Takashi's shoulder and hissed at him.

"For fuck's sake, man! You almost killed me." Denetsu snapped at him, having been nearly scared to death.

"There's bandage in my right pocket, pull it out and treat your arm." Takashi ordered sternly, and his subordinate did what he was told. "Now take over Shiro." Denetsu made a face.

"Why can't you keep carrying him?"

"Because I'm the leader. Plus, I can't afford to look gay."

"I'm not carrying him!"

"I can walk by myself." Shiro interrupted. "Being carried like a little girl is embarrassing anyway. That's more like something Den-chan would do." Denetsu glowered at him.

"I swear to god, you blind hobo, I'll kill you if you keep going on like that."

"Hobo? Still better than being a faggot such as yourself."

"Fuck you, man. Fuck you. Here I thought we were bros!"

"Aaaaand this is why everyone calls you gay."

"What? I didn't say anything!"

"A straight man isn't insanely butthurt over being called a faggot."

"I'm gonna kick you in the face now, is that okay?"

"You wanna fight, Den-chan? You sure? You might get a booboo and run crying to Takashi again."

"Bring it on, you shitfaced hobo!"

"Fine, I'll carry him. You two kids, shut up. No one is gay, end of story." Takashi snarled, getting impatient. Usually, this would've amused him, but right now he didn't have enough energy nor endurance to listen to the two argue for hours like two little boys. Besides, Aizen had ordered him to gather all the Neo Espada and the two former original Espada. He needed to save his remaining energy for that.

* * *

"Hey! Hey, guys!" Kaito yelled at his comrades who were still fighting. Cirucci, who'd been in a fierce fight with Uryū, halted momentarily, before she was forced to dodge another rain of arrows being shot towards her. "HEY! Time-out, man! We're retreating!" Kaito yelled at Uryū, who frowned.

"Retreating?" Chad had now also stopped his charge towards Kaito. Ggio turned around after cutting another Shinigami down, and Cirucci looked down at Kaito from the building she was standing on.

"What are you talking about?" Kaito gestured to the building opposite of her, and they all saw Grimmjow standing there, seemingly bored. "What are _you _doing here?" Cirucci asked a little flustered. The former Sexta scratched the back of his head.

"Simply put? I've come to retrieve you. Aizen is out, Soul Society is ours." He flashed a grin after announcing that. Needless to say, Uryū, Chad and the other Shinigami were dumbstruck. Soul Society taken over? Aizen out?

"He… Aizen… he escaped?" Uryū's eyes widened in horror when he realized what this meant. Another war, possibly even bigger than the last one.

"Yup. So, you can consider this the official start of the Summer War."

"Summer war?" Ggio snorted. "Really? Are you that unoriginal?" Grimmjow glared at him, feeling his hands itch.

"Shut up, assface. Ulquiorra came up with the name, not me. Now let's go, Mai opened up a portal for us."

"Fine, whatever." Cirucci gave Uryū one last glare.

"The next time you see me will be the last thing you'll ever see, Quincy!" she snarled. Uryū merely narrowed his eyes but didn't reply. He was still too shocked over the fact that Aizen had escaped. This couldn't get any worse. Kaito looked over at Chad, his opponent, but couldn't come up with something cool to say like Cirucci.

"Yeah, what she said." Saturo, who'd been watching from a distance, laughed.

"Can't come up with a good one-liner, huh?"

"Shut up, tranny."

"_What did you call me?"_

"Hey, morons! Knock it off. We're leaving." Grimmjow ordered. Within a matter of seconds, all the Arrancar had disappeared.

This _really _couldn't get any worse.

* * *

"Roxette." Said girl was on her knees, panting. The hand which was holding her sword was shaking and she was profusely bleeding from a wound on her chest. Her opponent was lying on the ground, but still conscious and futilely trying to get up. Roxette instantly recognized the voice of Ulquiorra, but could barely lift her head to look at him.

"Is it… is it over?" she asked in between pants, wiping a little blood off her cheek with the back of her wrist. She heard footsteps and felt a hand gently grab her arms and help her up. A little baffled by the uncharacteristic gesture, she stared at Ulquiorra whose face was as emotionless as ever.

"Yes. Can you walk?" he asked coolly, and Roxette shook her head. Even standing was hurting her legs.

"Over? What's over? What are you talking about?" Ikkaku demanded an explanation. Ulquiorra glanced at him before lifting Roxette up in his arms.

"Aizen-sama has been freed," Roxette watched Ikkaku's confused expression turn into one filled with bewilderment "if you want to survive, I suggest you get out of here while you still can. Grimmjow has orders to eliminate every Shinigami still in Soul Society when he comes back." Before the Shinigami could respond, Ulquiorra had already left with Roxette, who was trying to hide her reddened face.

They encountered Skullak and Kanna. Both of their opponents had retreated a few minutes after Aizen had retreated.

"Apparently the Shinigami have decided to escape." Skullak answered when Ulquiorra asked him what had happened.

"Too bad. I was having fun as well." Kanna sighed, stretching her arms.

"Search the area for any survivors and eradicate them. Report to Aizen-sama when you are done. He's waiting on Sōkyoku Hill."

"Yes, sir."

"Yeah, yeah." The two disappeared in a flash. Roxette was now looking at Ulquiorra rather obviously, so when Ulquiorra looked right back at her, she turned red again.

"Do you have a fever?" Ulquiorra asked when he noticed the blush on her face.

"A-ah… uhm, well… n-no." Roxette mumbled embarrassed.

"Are you certain? You look sick."

'_He really has no clue.' _Roxette realized Ulquiorra probably would never know she had a crush on him unless she told him directly. She took a deep breath. "Well, I have something I need to c-confess. I'm-"

"-YO!" Cruz landed right next to them with a wide grin, and for the first time in her life Roxette wanted to punch her in the face.

"What are you doing here?" Ulquiorra asked slightly annoyed. "I thought I told you to report to Aizen-sama." Cruz kept smirking.

"Well, I came across a pretty nice opponent on the way, but then he was forced to retreat and I ended up lost." she said plainly. In fact, pretty nice probably didn't cut it. That Kenpachi guy was probably the most fun enemy she'd ever faced. Just thinking about the battle made her giddy.

"_HA! Not bad!" the pirate yelled, charging at her directly. Cruz took the blow head on, a smirk plastered on her face. The amount of reiatsu oozing from the both of them was destroying nearby buildings. _

"_Not bad yerself!" Cruz exclaimed as she pushed against his blade. The pirate wasn't really a pirate anymore, considering the fact that he'd removed his eye patch. _

_Their battle was brutal and hard to watch. Anyone who was under their level and near their battle was nearly suffocating because of their combined reiatsu. _

"_This is the most fun I've had in years!" _

"_It's about to get more fun!" _

_Needless to say, just when Cruz wanted to enter Resurrección, their battle had to be interrupted by some asshole Shinigami who was screaming something about Aizen and a portal or something. _

"_Tch, typical!" the pirate huffed._

"_I'll be sure to remember your face, Kenpachi." Cruz said when it was evident he was going to retreat._

"_Good! I'll look for you on the battlefield!" _

"C-Cruz! You're completely cut up!" Roxette then exclaimed, realizing Cruz's wounds were a lot more and deeper than hers. Yet Cruz was still standing, grinning like a maniac, which was odd. Cruz was usually pretty angry when she wasn't fighting. Now she seemed happy.

"Are they?" she said cheerfully. "Didn't notice that."

'_This woman is a monster!' _Roxette thought, gaping at the wounds that didn't seem to faze Cruz in the least.

* * *

Chié couldn't believe it. Really, she couldn't. He was back? She didn't know how to feel. Actually, she did feel worried for Shūhei, and wondered if he was still alive. As she jumped from building to building towards Sōkyoku Hill, she stopped when she was Mai holding open a portal. Soon enough, she saw Grimmjow and the Fracción come out of it. She wanted to join them, when she heard arguing nearby. Curiously, she decided to check it out.

It seemed several Shinigami Captains were arguing amongst themselves. Chié's eyes widened when she spotted Yukiko and Amaya near another portal. What was going on here?

"We don't have another choice." a woman with braided black hair spoke calmly.

"Yes we do! If the Arrancar can rip open a portal, then we can as well, without walking in a possible trap." a short woman countered heatedly.

"Lieutenant Matsumoto has already confirmed it to be safe." a man with long, white hair told her, but the short woman refused to give in.

"How much can we trust her, anyway?"

"Arguing isn't getting us anywhere." the other woman from before interrupted.

"Agreed. Aizen can arrive here at any minute, and if he does we'll be dead either way." a pale, composed man spoke in an almost icy voice.

"It is decided, then?"

"Very well, we'll trust those two Arrancar."

Chié watched them retreat and wondered if she should report it. She probably should, but for some reason, she didn't do it. She just watched until they were all gone, including Amaya and Yukiko. It wasn't until Mai appeared next to her that she turned away from the now empty square.

"Hey, we need to get to Aizen. You know that, right?" Chié nodded. "Then what are you standing around for, let's go!" Chié watched Mai take of first, then followed her. Behind her, Grimmjow was keeping an eye on the Fracción and also watching out for any survivors.

Soul Society was now officially Aizen's territory.

* * *

**Neo Espada Encyclopedia**

"Why do I have to do it? I'm not even a Neo Espada! Let Ulquiorra do it! Why me?"

_"Because it's funnier that way"_

"I hate your guts, Trick."

_"Just do it, Ichigo."_

_"_Fine!" Ichigo sighed annoyed before he started."Today, our subject is Aizen." Ichigo spoke uncomfortably, Aizen standing next to him in a calm manner.

"It's nice to be back." Aizen said with a smile.

"Not nice for us." The two had a brief stare down for a few seconds before Ichigo continued. "Soooo... uhm... What was Muken like?"

"Dark. And quiet."

"Right. You were sentenced for quite a time, huh?"

"Indeed."

"Hey, remember how you tried to kill my loved ones and nearly killed me as well? That was fun, huh?"

"Ah, yes. Good times."

"That was sarcasm, Aizen."

"Oh."

"..."

"..."

"This is extremely-"

"-Awkward?"

"Yes. Let's just leave."

"An excellent idea."

* * *

**Yah, I changed my name to Crimson Trickster (AKA Trick) because that sounded a lot cooler... and stuff... yeah.**

**I know, short chapter, but my school started this week so I didn't feel like writing a long one, sorry! The next one will be longer, promise!**

**I eat reviewz for dinner :D You don't want to starve me, do you? DO YOU? Then feed meh reviewz! I'm hungry! :D!**


End file.
